Unbounded Gooner
Zach Opere-Onguende is a young actor and facilitator at Chickenshed. He has cerebral palsy. Susan Elkin spoke to him.
Zach Opere-Onguende arrived at Chickenshed in 2017 when he was 18. “I wanted to study computer science and then I did a BA Hons degree in Inclusive Performing Arts” he says. “Shed”, as he calls it affectionately, turned out to be a life changer both for Zach and others he has worked with since.
“To tell you the truth, I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder when I started here. If you’ve grown up in Tottenham as I did (although please note I’m an Arsenal supporter!) there is pressure to be tough and if, you’re vulnerable it gives you an attitude. I was always wanting to prove a point.” He continues: “What Shed has done for me is to let me use my brain in a reflective way – inspiration without the chip if you like”.
When Zach began his Chickenshed degree he was a wheelchair user and reliant on a walking frame so access when he was out and about was far from easy. Breaking free of these constraints seems to have been a matter of confidence and determination. “I don’t use either now except occasionally under very specific circumstances” says Zach, who speaks with thoughtful deliberation adding that he now lives independently in Ilford and travels to Chickenshed by train on his own.
“I’m not fully independent though” he says. I still need supporting and for someone to check on me. I am speaking to Zach on the phone and Chickenshed’s Senior Creative Producer, Dave Carey, is in the room on speaker to support although he observes with a chuckle that Zach really doesn’t need it.
I ask Zach about access difficulties growing up. “I had almost no experience of live theatre because it was financially out of reach. But yes, cinemas often presented problems.”
So what exactly does Zach do now that he’s employed at Chickenshed? He reels it off: “Staff training, performing and leading workshops” adding that he is also a member of both the consultancy and outreach teams. At this point Dave chips in to say: “Zach is a crucial part of the training we offer and he goes all over London to deliver it. His experiences are invaluable. His role with us is half theatre and half training.” Did someone mention theatre? I’ve caught both Zach and Dave in a short break from the tech rehearsals of Love from Carmen with which they’re both involved – Zach in the cast and Dave as Musical Director.
When I observe that Zach clearly has a very busy job, he tells me that his Chickenshed work is actually part-time. He also has a post as a classroom assistant supporting SEND children in a primary school. “Yes they pay me, of course, but I don’t do any of this for the money. I want to help people and to put something back. The school has become like a family as Shed is. I feel very blessed to be able to do all this.”
He continues: “I couldn’t have coped with any of it, either physically or mentally when I was 18. I was very cautious and didn’t understand what I was capable of.” In sum, Zach explains that he used to be hidebound by perceptions – his own as well as other people’s – of his limitations and now he’s not, thanks to the empowering influence of the people he has met and worked with in the last seven years.
“I like watching people grow and helping the next generation. God has put me in the right place to spread love and creativity” he says, adding that is long term ambition is to be a Mayor for Special Needs. Zach, among his many other accomplishments, is also a poet. I asked him to send me one of his poems so that we could include an extract here: