1996

Creating theatre in the moment

Oily Cart Co-Founder Max Reinhardt: ‘Blue’ and theatre in the moment

Musician Sjaak Van Der Bent: ‘Hunky Dory’ and performing for the first time with Oily Cart

Hello I’m Root_Smell from Hunky Dory (1996)

Tickled Pink (1996). From left to right: Geoff Bowyer, Jonny Quick, Carol Walton, Carolyn Hier. The band makes their entrance. Photo: Pieternella Pieterse

As the company toured the two day-long shows around the UK, there were some amazing responses from students who had the most barriers to accessing standard theatre shows, with few (to no) alternatives available for them.

Oily Cart started creating sensory shows specifically for audiences labelled as having profound and multiple learning disabilities (we have since moved away from using this language). These shows did not rely on sight and sound, ‘traditional’ theatre conventions like plot, or neurotypical memory. They were not primarily intended to be anticipated or remembered, but to cast their spell in the moment.