The critically-acclaimed “disability Taskmaster” for kids comes to to Exeter
The critically-acclaimed kids game show Blue Badge Bunch is coming to Exeter Phoenix on Saturday 11th November as part of its 2023 UK tour, fresh off the back of a hit Edinburgh Fringe run at The Pleasance.
Blue Badge Bunch is a BSL interpreted interactive kids game show from production company Ingenious Fools that offers audiences the experience of what it is like to have different disabilities through interactive games. Creating a fun, open environment for kids to ask any and all questions they have about disability - the show had a critically-acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, and has been shortlisted for the Neurodiverse Representation Award and for the Best Show Award in the Midlands Comedy Awards.
Dubbed the “disability Taskmaster”, Blue Badge Bunch is hosted by comedian Benny Shakes, who has cerebral palsy, and autistic stand-up comedian Mark Nicholas, and they’ll be joined in Exeter by special comedy guest, non-verbal disabled comedian Alex Gibbon. Fresh from a busy Pride Circuit, Alex’s show Fat, Femme & Crippled had a phenomenal 6 show run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In Blue Badge Bunch, the panel and audience get to experience how it feels to have a disability by playing interactive games such as ‘Below the Belt,’ where participants draw with their bare feet, work out sentences from a speaking aid in ‘Jamie's Gamey’, and guess the price and purpose of disability equipment in ‘The Price is Wrong’.
The event will also have a free post-show workshop with host Benny Shakes, where audiences will hear Benny’s story, play games from the show and think about how disability affects people differently. Participants can even come up with their own games – some of which may even be used on stage by the Blue Badge Bunch team.
Midlands-based host Benny Shakes was awarded £30k from Arts Council England to develop and tour the show, with support from Attenborough Arts Centre (Leicester), The Quarry Theatre Bedford and New Art Exchange. This money is giving disabled artists more paid opportunities and raising awareness of the issues they face in a fun and engaging way.
Host Benny Shakes said: "With Blue Badge Bunch I wanted to create a comedy show that could make the next generation think differently about disability. It's a fun game show about something so important that offers audiences a chance to see how disabled people live each day, and we had an amazing response from audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year.
"It feels like this show is more important now than ever. There are still so many misconceptions around disability; in recent months I've experienced abuse about the way I speak, or people assuming that I'm less intelligent than them because I speak differently to them. Blue Badge Bunch gives us the opportunity to educate audiences about disabilities like Cerebral Palsy and Autism in an accessible, interactive way and hopefully change attitudes."
Tickets: https://exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/the-blue-badge-bunch/
Box office phone: 01392667080.
