Sensory Theatre: How to Make Interactive, Inclusive, Immersive Theatre for Diverse Audiences

At Oily Cart, we are often asked for guidance around the development and practice of Sensory Theatre. For anyone interested in learning about and making this work, Oily Cart’s Co-Founder and former Artistic Director Tim Webb MBE has published an incredible resource. Sensory Theatre is an accessible step-by-step guide to creating theatre for inclusive audiences. It’s available to purchase here and from other retailers.

For more on Oily Cart’s history and the development of Sensory Theatre, take a look at Our Story and our resources for artists. You may also be interested in Oily Cart: All Sorts of Theatre for All Sorts of Kids. Founders, actors, reviewers and audience contribute to this essential source book for anyone interested in Sensory Theatre.

Conventional theatre relies on seeing and hearing to involve its audience; sensory theatre harnesses the power of five or more senses to address its audience members who have different ways of relating to the world around them.

a groundbreaking book that opens the doors to all theatre practitioners
TYA Today Magazine, TYA/USA

This book is an insightful history of Oily Cart and its pioneering development of work by Oily Cart co-founder and former Artistic Director Tim Webb. It gives a clear introduction to the fundamental concepts of sensory theatre, suggests a host of practical techniques drawn from over forty years of experience, and describes some of Oily Cart’s most radical innovations, including theatre on trampolines, in hydrotherapy pools, and with flying audiences in the company of aerial artists.

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.
Tony Graham, Freelance theatre director and former Artistic Director of Unicorn Theatre

The book also includes copious photos from the Oily Cart archives and links to video examples of the company’s work. Readers will learn how to:

  • Research the intended audience while not being led astray by labels.
  • Create a welcoming, immersive sensory space in classrooms, nurseries, school halls, and playgrounds.
  • Devise sensory stories that can be adapted to suit different audiences.
  • Recruit, audition, cast, and run rehearsals.
  • Ensure that the production is truly sensory and interactive.

Written for Theatre for Young Audiences, Drama in Education, and specialized Applied Theatre courses, as well as educators and theatre practitioners interested in creating inclusive, interactive productions, Sensory Theatre offers a goldmine of ideas for making work that connects with audiences who can be the hardest to reach.

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

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
Mark Branner, Professor of Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Vitally important book that every theatre professional and student must read.
T.A. Fisher, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Bronx Community College (CUNY)

Aerial view of a performance of Mr and Mrs Moon. Performers and audience member play, make sandcastles and draw pictures together inside a big circular sand pit.
Mr and Mrs Moon 2012. Sandy played by Natasha Magigi in the giant sandpit where she and the participants all make sandcastles and draw pictures together
Production shot from Big Balloon. The aeronaut (played by Griff Fender) is in his hot air balloon, overseeing the action. A huge inflated balloon-shape lies on its side in front of him, and glowing orb shapes hang from the roof.
Big Balloon 2008. The aeronaut (Griff Fender) in his hot air balloon oversees the action at the Unicorn Theatre. An Oily Cart production for under-fives.