Viva Lewes Issue #136 January 2018

BITS AND BOX
CHARITY BOX: VIZABILITY
VizAbility is an experimental dance and drama
group where people with disabilities can express
themselves through drama, dance and puppetry,
as well as mask and puppet making. We have fun
coming up with ideas together, and aim to show the
world that having a disability need not stop a person
from creating a beautiful and moving performance.
We do a mixture of things. One week we might
make costumes, masks or puppets, another, we
rehearse. Dance and puppetry are versatile forms of
expression. You can put across a lot of feeling, which
can be magical.
John from the Oyster Project invited me to
take over running this award-winning group
about a year ago, after we had worked together on
a project. We are currently working on a production
of Bird’s Nest (from a Chinese proverb about
preventing ‘birds of worry’ building nests in your
hair), in which we use shadow puppetry, combined
with mime and dance to a mixture of classical, opera
and Indian music.
We will put on a performance in Westgate
Chapel for family and friends, then take Bird’s Nest
to the community, to people who might not otherwise
be able to get to events easily. At the Phoenix
and St Nicholas Day Centres, for example.
We meet every Wednesday at the Westgate
Chapel, 10.30am-12.30pm. £5 per person.
As told to Emma Chaplin by Hannah Hill
VizAbility are looking for new members. For more
details, contact foreststarhannah@gmail.com. For
performances, see oysterproject.org.uk
Photo by Ben Fuller
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