Space Chronic-ills investigates “Am I a failure or am I being failed?”

An exploration of failure, resistance, disclosure and joy as I attempt to reframe my lived experience of chronic illness, internalised ableism, imposter syndrome and societal barriers through sci-fi performance with creative integrated access. 

 

After being knocked off course, a seemingly resolute commander and their overbearing virtual assistant work together to refocus their mission.

 

“Commander Ash Tronomy is a five-star, frakking fabulous, astro-inspirational, earthling…” Well, that’s how they want you to think of them.

 

Commander Ash Tronomy hides behind a facade of “everything is fine”, as many of us do. People who live with chronic illness, neurodiversity, mental health conditions and dynamic disabilities are often misunderstood by others - and sometimes by ourselves. 

 

We continuously grapple with societal barriers - medical vs. social models, identity politics, censorship of joy, fear of disclosure, internalised ableism, imposter syndrome, autonomy, illness narratives and the pressure to ‘get well’.

 

Sci-fi places humans under imaginary pressures using speculative fiction. Those with a non-visible illness or disability are often disbelieved or considered to be imagining things - “you don’t look sick” - so the Commander's interplanetary struggles are a way of making the invisible, visible. Sci-fi becomes sci-fact.

 

Space Chronic-ills (WIP) in its Phase 1 work-in-progress form is a 14-minute contemporary theatre piece, focusing on text, sound design, integrated audio description and movement.

​

My practice centres access, from the creative process to audience experience. During Phase 1 the team and I worked shorter hours, had regular breaks and protected rest days. We built a culture of care for one another, and used access riders to ensure everyone's needs were met.

 

At performances, there were quiet spaces, soft seating and relaxed presentation, as well as live captioning and BSL interpretation at some sharings. I created an accessible costume (with help from my mum). 

 

The main focus of Phase 2 is to further examine how I might use accessible approaches to create a choice of routes through the work, by
 

• Developing creative captioning and projection design

• Further developing integrated audio description

• By exploring environmentally sustainable and accessible scenery

• Creating an offer that is both live and streamed in an interesting way

• Investigating what audiences participation looks like when access is considered

• Expanding my research across science fiction, space science, queer theory, health and wellbeing.

• Collaborating with artists with lived experience of the themes to enrich the narrative.

• Reflecting on how meeting my own and others' access needs can enhance and inform the work.