Performance art therapy for autistic children

Bamboozle Theatre, a company that creates productions for children with learning difficulties and special needs, brought two immersive productions to China for the first time earlier this year.

The production titled Down to Earth was targeted at children with medium or serious learning difficulties while Storm was adapted from part of the Shakespearean play The Tempest and was meant for autistic kids aged between 6 and 14.

From Apr 19 to May 2, the company presented a total of 41 shows at the Shanghai Children’s Art Theater (SHCAT), with each of the performances attended by no more than six children. The audience cap was put in place to ensure that the children could effectively interact with the actors.

During the show, actors would engage the children by weaving their names into the songs being performed and encourage them to become a part of the show. The artists would at times also mimic a child’s movements so as to make him or her feel comfortable and accepted.

Other interactive elements include props such as small jars containing “fireflies” and stuffed animals that children can touch and play with. The theater lighting was also specially designed to create a mild and tranquil setting.

Parents and adult companions of the children were also urged not to provide any instruction and to just let the kids sit back and enjoy the performance.

“It is important that we create a space for these children,” said Christopher Davies, founder and artistic director of the Bamboozle. “We want to send the message that they belong here and are important.”

After watching Storm with his 12-year-old autistic daughter, a father told Davies that “for the first time in her entire life, my daughter could sit quietly and be herself” throughout the 40-minute performance.

A director, writer and educator, Davis co-founded the Bamboozle Theatre Company in Britain in 1994. Armed with more than 20 years of experience working with special needs youths, Davis has developed a unique methodology to effectively help the emotional, behavioral and cognitive development of autistic children.

Each of the performances in Shanghai was also attended Christopher Davies, by teachers from special needs schools, social welfare workers and officials, as well as doctors from children’s hospitals. These adult spectators sat at the outer ring to observe the performers and their communication with the children.

One of the spectators, a staff member of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Shanghai, said that SHCAT has “filled in a gap” in the social welfare system to care for children with special needs by introducing the Bamboozle Theatre.

A mother who sat with her son watching Down to Earth told China Daily USA that she was “inspired by the artists” and learned new methods of communication with her autistic 14-year-old child.

At one point during the show, her child was offered a broom and encouraged to help the actors sweep the floor. Though the child had pounded the floor instead of perform the correct action, the mother said she was surprised that the actors mimicked his actions instead of correcting it. As a result, the child became at ease and learned to enjoy the attention he was getting.

Davies said at a forum after the performances that while autistic children appear to be uninterested and do not respond as others would, parents and educators should not make assumptions that the child does not understand or enjoy an activity because “children could find a way to make the show work for them.”

While theater experience has often helped children with special needs, Davies reminded parents that Bamboozle is just a theater company rather than a medical institution, and that “all results are anecdotal.”

The company’s mission, he said, is to make their audiences comfortable and entertain them, because children with special needs, like all other young people, have the same right to leisure and entertainment.