News

The Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham are delighted to have had their Autism Friendly Award renewed for 2018 by The National Autistic Society

The Autism Friendly Award rewards organisations and businesses who make themselves as accessible as possible to autistic people and their families.

Chris Pike, Autism Access Specialist for The National Autistic Society, said: “The Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall is clearly a national leader in regards to accessibility in theatres, and they should be extremely proud their ongoing commitment to autistic people and their families. We are delighted to be presenting them with the National Autistic Society’s Autism Friendly Award for another year.”

The Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall’s Front of House manager, Emily Malen, said: “Every member of staff, backstage and front of house, is involved in the work we do to make our theatre and concert hall as accessible as possible and I think that makes a huge difference.  We are committed to this as a whole organisation.  Our relaxed performances, specifically designed to meet the needs of autistic people and their families, are great fun for the staff as well as the customers!  They give opportunities to people who perhaps wouldn’t have considered a trip to the theatre before.  Some of the feedback we have had from parents and carers after these events has been extremely humbling.  It really brings home to you that by making just a few tweaks to our service we can transform someone’s experience of coming to the theatre.  We are not resting on our laurels though, as accessibility is something we are committed to continuing to develop in the years to come.”

You can read the venue’s ‘Award holder’s story’ on The National Autistic Society’s website here

Find out more about assisted performances and access support offered at the Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham here