30 years of DIY Theatre

photo: there are a group of people in costumes. Most have blue tunics but one is wearing a red and blue workwear shirt. They are all facing the camera, many have their hands raised and are shouting or singing. At front it says 'Celebrating 30 years 1994-2024' in colourful letters with balloons

Celebrating 30 Years of Creativity and Inclusion

DIY Theatre has been making a difference for over 30 years now. We are so proud of everything we’ve achieved together with our members, supporters, and community. In 2024, we celebrated this big milestone with lots of exciting activities and events.

What We’ve Achieved in 30 Years:

  • Our Story: DIY Theatre started with a small group of people who believed that everyone deserves a chance to shine on stage. Over the years, we’ve grown and worked on lots of amazing shows, workshops, and projects.
  • Making a Difference: DIY has helped create opportunities for people with learning disabilities to lead in the arts. We’ve inspired change, worked with fantastic partners, and reached so many audiences.

How We Celebrated in 2024:

In our 30th year, we celebrated the history of DIY by:

  • Working with numerous artists to make a film, a textile piece and a photography exhibition
  • Creating a series of educational workshops
  • Sharing stories from our members and supporters
  • Hosting two special celebratory events to bring people together
  • We also enjoyed looking back at all our DIY shows over the years. Some of our founding members have been involved in DIY since the very beginning and are still very much involved now!
  • We rounded off the year with a blog post with all the highlights of our celebrations. Read it here.

What’s Next for DIY:

Our first 30 years have been full of creativity, learning, and growth. We’re excited about the future and want to do even more. DIY will keep working to make theatre accessible to everyone and to show what people with learning disabilities can do. Keep an eye on here and our social media to stay up to date!

photo - lots of people are on a stage. Most are wearing red t-shirts. Everyone looks happy and many are holding brochures which say '30 YEARS' Behind them there is a large screen which has DIY's Logo and '30 years' with balloons around.

 

The Impact of our work

For 30 weeks from January to June 2024, we received heartfelt stories and quotes, sharing the impact DIY has made since 1994. We feel so proud, here’s a few for you to read:

DIY has evolved to the point where they’re making that profound and thought-provoking work to change things that are still happening in society and really challenge the audience to think about things in a different way. Not just think about people with learning disabilities as actors but actually think about society and the world in a different way.

– Di Critchley, Development & Engagement Officer NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care, and DIY Board Member

DIY invest in people which aligns with my values as an arts worker.
I have learnt a lot around inclusive practice, which is embedded across the organisation.
I like how we work as a team comes from a place of sharing knowledge/learning from experiences and that everyone has a voice. I have felt supported and encouraged personally and professionally in my both my roles as Leading Edge Coordinator and Creative Support. I feel that my skills are and have been recognised and nurtured which has increased my confidence in my abilities.

– Mary, DIY Freelance Artist

I find it hard to put into words the difference DIY has made to me and my practice, but I will try my best. DIY has supported me from the beginning of my career and given me so many opportunities that I am so thankful for. DIY members have taught me what it means to be truly inclusive (which is ever changing, and I am still learning!) and this has shaped so much of my art practice with other groups. DIY has taught me that people with learning disabilities have so much to offer the creative space, and we should never stop pushing for people with learning disabilities to have space and time to lead. Thankyou DIY!

– Molly, DIY Freelance Artist

The involvement of disabled co-facilitators enabled us to gain a deeper understanding of disability led work and how this works in practise. I would recommend DIY Theatre to any organisation – artistic or not – as a way to better understand the needs of people with disabilities but also on how to make your space more inclusive to everyone’s needs.

– Rachael Bamber, Engagement Manager, Burnley Youth Theatre

When I first started I had no confidence. I never thought that I’d be able to fit anywhere. That’s how I was at the beginning. Then through the years I’ve gone from not having any confidence to having lots of confidence now and being myself and not being judged. I think DIY over the years has changed me a lot. It’s given me confidence to actually be myself – able to speak about myself and to be able to show who I am inside and who I am now. I never knew what friendship was like – having the honesty and trust. Through DIY it’s made me feel part of an amazing group and be accepted for who I am. I’m lucky to be part of something that changes people and I’m always learning new things. What I’m doing now is I’m actually teaching things that I’ve learnt at DIY at the church – everyone’s having fun and I’m paying it forward, sharing it at the church and getting everyone involved.

– Becky, DIY Leader

DIY Theatre has had a huge impact on my work. It – and more importantly – the people who are ‘it’ – have made me think about how different people access different theatre games and exercises. It has made me slow things down. It has made me try to say less when doing might be better or easier. It has made me consider different ways to connect with people of all ages and abilities. It has made me excited about sensory theatre. It has made me realise the impact that layering ideas on to simple exercises can have. It has made me see that leadership can take many forms. It has made me proud of what I see when DIY are in the space. It has made me feel part of a big theatre family. Thanks DIY

– Jenny, DIY Freelance Artist

I’ve become more independent since I started at DIY. At the beginning I used to have to have staff with me but I don’t any more. I’m used to travelling on my own to drama now. I’m more independent knowing what bus to get. I’m getting better at acting. It makes me feel happy and excited.

– Robert, DIY Actor

Thank you to the funders who supported our 30th Birthday projects:
Close Knit project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Exploring our Past; Shaping our Futures was funded through the ‘Whose Art, Whose Culture Fund’ – Managed by Salford CVS on behalf of Salford City Council; monies from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund via Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

logo of National Lottery Heritage Fundlogo strip; 'Greater Manchester, Doing Things Differently', 'Powered by Levelling Up', 'Salford City Council', 'Funded by UK Government', Salford CVS, Making a difference in Salford'.