Wicked – Inclusive Family Day

On 30 November 2025 we collaborated with Wicked to host an Inclusive Family Day for young people and families who are visually impaired or have special educational needs…

Designed to connect young people with similar experiences, our Inclusive Family Days are created to enable an accessible and fun day full of theatre magic for the whole family to enjoy.

Thanks to our generous funders we were able to offer 10 families a fully subsidised day of theatre experiences at £10 per person. This included a pre-show workshop, a touch tour at the Apollo Victoria and tickets to the Audio Described matinee performance of Wicked.

The day began with a pre-show workshop facilitated by Larhysa Saddul and supported by Megan Drabble. The workshop explored the themes, story and characters of Wicked in a welcoming environment, aiming to build the confidence of the young people and bring the families together in a fun and inclusive setting.

This was followed by a touch tour of the props and costumes led by VocalEyes. As well as the opportunity to meet some of the cast!

The families then watched an Audio Described Performance which was a collaboration with VocalEyes, with Lonny Evans and Ruth James as the Describers.

Go Live focused on targeting young people with visual impairments or special educational needs, and their families, who would most benefit from the Audio Described performance. While also reaching those families who would love to take their young people to the theatre, but the budget or access is simply not there.

This event was two of the families first ever theatre experience, while four more only attend once a year- showing how impactful these experiences can be when made accessible to the whole family.

100% agreed it was beneficial to meet other young people with similar needs and experience

100% agreed the pre-show workshop and touch tour contributed to the young people’s understanding of the show

100% agreed the day was educational

100% agreed the day was a fun experience for the whole family

100% agreed the day was inclusive

The families feedback has showed how impactful meeting other young people with similar needs can be and how important that their theatre experience is inclusive:

“Brilliant was very nice to be as a family and my VI was included and felt part of everything”

“Inclusivity makes a big difference in the young person’s experience of the world. Thank you”

“We loved it, meeting VI friends from across the country and making new ones.”

“An amazing experience that we won’t forget!”

“So lovely, great experience, can’t thank all the staff enough, was lovely to be able to enjoy a family day out that is affordable and inclusive”

Testimonials from parents have acknowledged and appreciated the success of inclusivity in this event:

“I wanted to email to say a very big thank you for the event today. My son and I had a brilliant time. The workshop and touch tour were both amazing, as was the show itself. My son was buzzing all evening and couldn’t wait to tell his dad and brother all about it.

It was also great from my point of view to be able to spend some decent time with other families with VI children, it’s not something we get a lot of opportunity to do. We discovered one of the other families lives very near to us and swapped phone numbers so hope to arrange a follow up play date!”

Huge thanks to the team at Wicked and VocalEyes for working with us to create this impactful experience!

Accessible and inclusive programmes like this are simply not possible without your support.

Donate today to help ensure every child, regardless of background, has the chance to experience the transformative power of live theatre and open doors for the next generation.

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Photos: @charlieflintphotography