Listen Up!

The Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s National Theatre.

Listen Up! was a week of development for the Listen Up! show, in Ireland’s national theatre the Abbey, was all about giving a voice to Autistic children and young people with learning disabilities.

5x5 is a development series for communities who feel marginalised and silenced. Each year, five community projects receive five days’ worth of space, technical assistance and €5,000 to help in the development of a theatre piece. 5x5 enables these communities to engage with their national theatre for the first time.

One of the five selected projects for 2019, LISTEN UP! is a project that creates meaningful ways for Autistic children to engage in the arts, giving agency to each child to share their work and experiences with the wider community. During their development week, the team collaborated with the children to create an accessible and interactive sensory musical performance piece. 5x5 is an initiative of the Abbey Theatre’s New Work department.