OpenStoryTellers visit Salisbury Playhouse

A group of participants from OpenStoryTellers’ Frome-based Storytelling Company went to a matinee performance of ‘Up Down Man’, on 3rd March at Salisbury Playhouse, thanks to a generous donation from the Frome Lions.  

The sequel to the internationally critically acclaimed ‘Up Down Boy’, once again starring the gifted and charismatic performer Nathan Bessell as Matty Butler, ‘Up Down Man’ asked the question that faces every parent of an adult with a learning disability…What will happen when I’m not here?

When the group, whose members all have a learning disability themselves, heard about the upcoming performance they wrote to the Frome Lions to ask if they would consider funding the trip and were delighted when they agreed.

It made the audience think about their own lives and everyone really enjoyed the performance, with the participants saying, “All the actors did very well with their roles, we felt it reflected on our lives and made us think of our families. We understood his character and the way he was feeling as well.”

Openstorytellers is a charity that works to enrich and empower the lives of people who are marginalised because of learning and communication difficulties, and is co-run by people with a learning disability. They do this through varied work around the telling and sharing of stories, using a collaborative approach based on 15 years of specialist research and pioneering practice.