Usually, disabled people are just trying to do the right thing. But what if they weren’t? What if they were out to make as much money as possible from non-disabled, anxious people (like you)?
Someone at large PR company RIZE (yes, spelled with a Z) has ‘done an ableism’…very publicly. At the behest of non-disabled HR manager Helen Richardson (Chloe Palmer), all staff are required to undergo training on how to support disabled people.
Weaponising RIZE’s able-anxiety, disabled talent manager Tim (Samuel Brewer) strives to make disability an experiential brand where disabled voices should represent disabled voices. Otherwise, that’s still ableist, right? Using the malleable, fame-hungry triple threat Ross (Blind, Gay & Brown), Tim begins to manipulate those around him. Together, he and Ross (Aarian Mehrabani) push to make disability the next cultural cachet people scramble for.
What has been the main way that publicity companies like ours have made money in the last five years? Trailblazers, and their lived experiences: Colin Kaepernick, Elliot Page, Greta Thunberg…
But what’s difficult about these people? What’s turning their quest for inclusion, somehow, into exclusion?
Simple, we can’t all be black, we can’t all be trans, and we can’t all be children.
But we can all be Disabled.
Developed with a healthy dose of scepticism and an unhealthy serving of cynicism It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure examines ableism and the fetishisation of identity through the first-hand experiences of disabled people.
FlawBored said: “It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure is a fully accessible show. Well, we think it is.
“We’re attempting to make it completely accessible. We’ve definitely spent a lot of (some might say too much) money on it.
“John the captioner hasn’t slept in a month. Utilising integrated audio description and captions, we’re going to accommodate the needs of every hypothetical audience member, without even knowing or asking what they might be. That’s good, right? We’re the good people?”
FlawBored is a disability-led theatre company that creates ensemble-based work. It was formed out of a need to reinvigorate the way access is considered both within shows and within the rehearsal room, believing that it should be thought about from the beginning of the process not added on as an afterthought.
“It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure
Soho Theatre (Soho Upstairs), 21 Dean Street, London, W1D 3NE
Monday 24 April – Saturday 13 May 2023
7pm (Matinees on 29 April and 13 May, 3pm)
Admission: £10 – £20
Booking: www.Sohotheatre.com
