Hijinx Theatre is a Cardiff-based theatre group who was founded in 1981 by Gaynor Lougher and Richard Berry. Their idea of including learning disabled and/ or autistic artists, who form the heart of the company’s productions, was visionary and very much ahead of its time, but has proven its value and opportunities time and time again and went hand in hand with their conviction that theatre is for everyone. The impact on learning-disabled actors’ lives and their audiences has been considerable and proven to be of high worth.
Lougher, a performer herself, became Artistic Director in 1994, leading the shows for learning disabled persons and also setting up a prevailing community drama group for people of all abilities, Odyssey. In 2004, the group moved into the Wales Millennium Centre and from 2006 on started producing shows starring people with learning disabilities in a professional surrounding side by side with actors without disabilities. In 2008, Hijinx founded the worldwide Unity Festival for inclusive and disability arts and in 2012, the first Hijinx Academy was created in order to demonstrate that all tours would from now on include people with learning disabilities and/ or autism. Lougher and Berry were awarded the Special Recognition Award at the Theatre Critics of Wales Awards for their work. The same year Ben Pettitt-Wade became Artistic Director and Clare Williams, who was succeeded by Sarah Horner in 2019, was assigned Chief Executive Officer. Originally a co-operative, Hijinx is now a not-for-profit company and a registered charity.
The company produces opportunities for actors with learning disabilities and/ or autism and is thereby challenging the notions of what theatre and film can be and how they should be made. The aspiration is to produce performances changing our perception of the world, which, according to Hijinx Theatre, are the performances remaining with us forever.
Hijinx Theatre describes its work as bold, vibrant and anarchic, since these are the adjectives used to characterize its actors, thereby demonstrating their celebration of inclusion and challenging perceptions. Their work has been impactful and praised both at the regional and the international level, their excellent reputation going beyond the borders of the UK. The projects are described as exhilarating and subversive, ranging from small scale productions to large projects both indoors and outdoors, whereby artists with learning disabilities and/ or autism are included in every step of the way of making and performing their stories.
The theatre has also founded several academies in Wales providing professional performance training by holding weekly courses or classes in order to teach essential life skills via drama and to encourage the encounter between new people. Hijinx Theatre members are thereby not only recognised as experienced trainers, but also in their role as award-winning specialists for companies aiming at demonstrating their commitment to inclusivity and diversity. Hijinx Theatre empowers companies’ staff with the training to work well with vulnerable customers and challenge prevailing perceptions as well as the performance training they provide. The theatre has also signed the Race Council Cymru’s Zero Racism Policy.
