NEWS
Thursday 28 September 2023
SENSORY THEATRE
was published just over a year ago.
The publishers have informed me that by 30 June 2023,
880 copies
have been sold.
Friday 22 September
Thursday 5 October 2023
ArteVOX Teatro from Italy
SENSORY THEATRE WORKSHOP
At Oily Cart, Smallwood Road
10.00-5.00
Thursday 9 February 2023
Good news from Théâtre Motus in Montréal, Canada
Hello dear Tim!
Today we did our first residency day in the specialized school and we did real great with our kitchen show! You told me how great oranges can be for kids with Profound intellectual and physical challenges! And also for kids on the spectrum! It was amazing! We tried with flour, salt, sugar, eggs!! OMG the eggs! They love it! We were with teenagers on the spectrum with behavior problems and they engaged in the workshop and I felt nobody never gave them eggs and bowls and juice extractor because they are afraid they would break everything! It was just wonderful to cross that line with them… and even the one who cannot eat we could put some tiny bit of salt and orange juice and white eggs meringue with sugar on their lips!! Thank you, dear Tim, your book is just great and gives us wings and confidence to try and never say: they can’t or we can’t do that!
Abrazos desde Canada!!
Hélène Ducharme – Co-artistic director
Théâtre Motus, Montréal
Tuesday 10 January 2023
Jasmin Vardemon Home, Ashford
One day workshop with Playground Artists to develop creative ideas
Monday 9 January 2023
Tim Webb on SENSORY THEATRE
Rose Bruford College TYA Centre celebrate the launch of Tim Webb's book Sensory Theatre.
Oily Cart founder, Tim Webb, in conversation.
12 December 2022
tya today MAGAZINE
Latest review of Sensory Theatre book
“a groundbreaking book that opens the doors
to all theatre practitioners”
Click on the link below to read to whole review in ASSITEJ USA magazine
https://www.tyausa.org/tya-today/book-review-sensory-theatre-how-to-make-interactive-inclusive-and-immersive-theatre-for-diverse-audiences/
Monday 5 December
Important new book
Tim Webb has been working with NYU Educational Theatre students on our London study abroad course for well over a decade, and we are excited to announce the publishing of his new book, 'Sensory Theatre: How to Make Interactive, Inclusive, Immersive Theatre for Diverse Audiences by a Founder of Oily Cart.' Tim was the Artistic Director and chief writer of the Oily Cart Theatre company from 1981 to his retirement in 2018 and during this time, he led a team that created more than 85 productions all over the world. In 2011, he was appointed MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his work for young people with disabilities. Come check out Tim Webb's exciting, engaging, and important new book!
David Montgomery
Director of the Program in Educational Theatre at New York University
Facebook post on 22 November 2022
30 November 2022
This book is wonder
Mark Brannar
Five-star review on amazon.com
Much like the shows that Oily Cart creates, this book is a wonder. Based simply on the company’s reputation alone, anyone who has ever attended an Oily Cart performance should grab a copy. But the text is much more than a compilation of past achievements. Instead it is guidebook, a reference, an encyclopedia into the worlds of TVY (theatre for the very young), Sensory Theatre, into theatre that is truly created for ALL audiences – deaf, disabled, neurodivergent children of all ages – as Webb documents so beautifully.
By turns immersive, instructive, and even humorous, the book offers a full history of Oily Cart and their journey to Sensory Theatre. Within even the first section, I found myself relishing Webb's honest prose and shaking my head in admiration at an insight made from a beginning experiment with an “Early Years” audience production (those under five).
In Part Two – How Sensory Theatre Works – the text explores the senses of seeing, hearing, touch, smell, taste, kinaesthetics, and even hot and cold. No doubt this section will serve as "the map" for years to come for many up-and-coming companies who are now experimenting with Sensory Theatre.
Filled with a vivid description of companies around the world who are also engaging in immersive art works for all audiences, a collection of helpful extras and sources, links to inspiring videos, and more, this is and will be the definitive text on Sensory Theatre for years to come.
Like the company itself, I say of this book, “What a gift!”
Mark Branner
Professor of Theatre
TYA Program Director
Department of Theatre and Dance
University of Hawaii at Manoa
26 November 2022
Heighten your sense of theatre
Tony Graham
Five-star review on amazon.co.uk
Dive in anywhere into this fascinating book by one of the founders of the great Oily Cart Theatre Company and you will learn something refreshingly new about theatre and how it can speak to ALL of us. Read it end-to-end and you will follow Tim Webb's journey working with young audiences, then very young audiences, ultimately reaching out towards neuro-divergent audiences and those on the autistic spectrum. Along the way, Tim scatters nuggets of practical knowledge alongside insights into the rich meanings of theatre. In case this all sounds a bit worthy and earnest, fear not. Like his shows, the book is witty, fun to explore and joyous. It's a well-illustrated tome and thankfully so, as you glean the importance of the hugely talented Amanda Webb whose ingenious, rich design has been such a key feature of Oily Cart's growth and success. Similarly, you can hear the ways in which the magical, jazzy sound-worlds of Max Reinhardt have offered a sensory foundation to performance and participation. With multiple case studies, including the burgeoning international growth of sensory theatre, this is anything but dry theory. It is rooted in experience and the lessons that have been learnt and can now be shared. The best compliment I can pay this unique book that codifies forty years in the field is that it is not (only) for specialists. It is for anyone who cares about theatre and ALL its audiences.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 November 2022
Thursday 3 November
Zoom with Jonathan Shmidt Chapman’s class
Sensory Theatre class at Northwestern University, Illinois
Monday 3 October
Customer Review on Amazon.com
Teresa A. Fisher
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vitally important book that every theatre professional and student must read
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2022
If it weren't for the fact that I was given an opportunity to read this book in the hopes I might write a review for it, I regret to say I wouldn't have thought to pick it up as sensory theatre is something I'm aware of, but didn't see as being important for my work as a producer of a theatre for young audiences play development series. I couldn't have been more wrong and would have missed a wonderful opportunity to reconsider my own thoughts about how theatre can and should be made!
The book provides a history of Webb's and his company's development of sensory theatre followed by detailed, thoughtful, and encouraging chapters on how to create theatre that engages participants and performers in multi-sensory ways. It is these two sections of the book that I think all theatre makers will find useful, no matter what type of theatre they are creating. For in exploring the sensory needs of the particular participants Webb and his company focused on, there is a reminder for all theatre makers of making sure our work speaks to a variety of audiences/participants and takes a variety of sensory considerations into account. In other words, a lot can be learned about how to make all theatre more accessible to the desired/specified audiences/participants.
The rest of the book is equally engaging with offering a glimpse at sensory theatre around the world and a host of resources useful for theatremakers.
This is perhaps the most important theatre book to be published in recent years, especially for those working with sensory theatre no doubt, but for all theatre makers around the world.
Teresa A. Fisher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Bronx Community College (CUNY).
Thursday 8 September
Sensory Theatre book launch
Thank you to all the wonderful collaborators and friends who came to help us celebrate the book. We had a fantastic time seeing you all. I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. A special thank you to Jeremy Harrison for his generous speech.
Tuesday 30 August
Sensory Theatre book
Finally, the book is now available to buy as a paperback or an ebook!
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003091288/sensory-theatre-tim-webb
https://www/book/sensory-theatre/tim-webb/9780367549473.waterstones.com
Wednesday 10 August
Sensory Theatre book
We have received the first consignment from the publishers!
Sunday 10 July
Sensory Theatre book
The book is at the printers. We are making plans for a book launch in early September.
Here is another flavour of the contents from the index.
A – Autistic spectrum disorder
B – Baby Balloon
C – Chill out zone
D – Dinner Ladies from Outer Space
E – Emotional intelligence
F – Fragrances
G – Gorgeous
H – Hammocking
I – Interaction
J – Jazz
K – Kubla Khan
L – Lincoln Centre
M – Messy play
N – Neuro-diversity
O – Ockham’s Razor
P – Poundland
R – Ring a Ding Ding
S – Social Stories
T – Thomas the Tank Engine
U – Under Your Hat
V – Vision
W – Wheelchair
Y – Youssef, Maya, see Kanun
Z – Zoom
20 May
SENSORY THEATRE book
Proof received this week. Here is a taster.
Due for publication on 30 August 2022
1 - 6 MAY 2022
Stranden in Sweden
Tim in Sweden to work on the bring back of Stranden (The Beach) for performances by Scen:se at the Bibu and ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2022 at Helsingborg. See extracts from Social Story below.
Facebook link to Stranden
Below are extracts from the Social Story from Stranden. You can see the set, the seating on wheels and the tables that have bowls for water under the lid. Performances in May at Bibu and ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2022 at Helsingborg.
