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Disability equality leader, Michèle Taylor, steers the Ramps on the Moon podcast into the heart of mainstream theatre. With special guests, she discovers the joys, the frustrations, the successes, and the learning in elevating disabled people into the centre of theatre work.
Join Michèle as she shares the realities of the ‘now’ and what the future can hold for disability equality in the arts.Michèle is a disability equality trainer and consultant who set up her own business in 1992 to work with arts and other cultural organisations.
She has seen immense change across the sector in that time, and is still impatient for more:“It’s time to focus on anti-ableism: recognising that as disabled people, we are no longer satisfied with being granted access into an essentially ableist sector. I am proud of the Ramps on the Moon partners for the work they have done to reflect on their own structures and processes, and to share their learning.”
14 Episodes
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Michèle Taylor talks to Rachel Sharpe, Head of Co-Creation, Creative Learning and Engagement at the Royal Shakespeare Company. In this powerful conversation Rachel chats about: The emotional story of Ukrainian actors collaborating with the RSC on King LearWhat genuine co-creation looks like in practiceThe 'risk register' - a practice which make creativity possibleHer personal experience of parenting an autistic child — and what the theatre world is getting right (and wrong) for neurodivergent...
Michèle Taylor talks to Maximillian Fairley - screen and stage actor about his flourishing career and what matters to him to be able to do his best work. Max talks about his experience in playing a lead role (Harry) in World Premier Village Idiot - A co-production by Theatre Royal Stratford East, Nottingham Playhouse and Ramps on the Moon, and written by Samson Hawkins Max talks in depth about his integral role playing Marty Baines in in Season 6 of ITV blockbuster Unforgotten Max also talks ...
Michèle Taylor talks to Penelope Saward and Ben Oliver at The Production Exchange about their steps, successes and challenges towards creating an anti-ableist organisation following their year-long journey on the Ramps on the Moon Change Partner programme. The Production Exchange is a charity, established in 2013. They provide artists with pathways into the performing arts industry, with the hope of enabling them to forge careers that are sustainable and fulfilling. They accomplish this throu...
Michèle talks to Mat Fraser - stage and screen actor, writer, drummer, and an anti-ableist activist. Join us for this lively, interesting and challenging podcast episode! Mat is well known for his powerful presence on both stage and screen, and is a patron of Graeae theatre company. Mat has appeared in acclaimed productions including American Horror Story, His Dark Materials, CripTales, and Barbara Met Alan screen-based credits. Theatre credits include Beauty and the Beast and the first...
Michèle Taylor talks to Amy Trigg, actor, writer and comedian, as well as Olivier Awards Winner in 2024 for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for 'The Little Big Things'. Amy talks about how representation has improved greatly on the screen over the last few years - and that she is now auditioning for roles that are not specifically for disabled actors, the only option available to her a few years ago. Amy talks about her career to date, her writing as a passion of hers, an...
Michèle talks to Zak Ford-Williams, screen and stage actor in Bridgerton (Lord Remington), The Hardacres (Harry Hardacre), Wolfe (Tyler) and The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man (Joseph Merrick). Zak knew he wanted to act at six years old, after seeing George’s Marvellous Medicine. Though he didn’t initially identify himself as disabled as a young child, he later realised how excluded he was. Stubbornness kept him going - knowing he wasn’t alone. Zak says 'Many young disabl...
Clare Hammerton carried out the independent evaluation for the Ramps on the Moon consortium. In this episode, Michèle asks her about the challenges of evaluation (especially in a multi-partner project) as well as talking about why it’s so important and powerful. Clare puts the Ramps evaluation into the wider context of her work around empowerment and participation and explains why it’s so important to think carefully about how you’re going to capture the data you need.&nbs...
Ben Wilson and Aisling Gallagher have been Ramps on the Moon Agents for Change at Sheffield and Theatre Royal Stratford East respectively. They are both also independent theatre-makers. They give us a fascinating insight into what an Agent for Change does - and doesn’t do - to support organisational transformation, why being annoying, and why they have a trampoline instead of a desk. Aisling celebrates the times things happen without their having any input and Ben tackles head on one o...
Michèle talks to David Bellwood - Head of Access at The National Theatre Michèle and David discuss rigour around language and what it means for David to be a non-disabled person working in the area of ‘access’. David throws down the gauntlet: can he and Michèle find a word that can usefully replace ‘access’ by the end of the episode? They explore vulnerability and transparency as important values of his work. Thank you to David for your time! Thank you for listening. For furth...
Eleanor Lang and Sean Brooks are from Theatre Royal Stratford East. Eleanor is Executive Director and Sean is Deputy Producer and a freelance producer. Michèle asks the 64 million dollar question, “What is a Producer, anyway?” and gets a great answer in which Eleanor and Sean unpack the process. They discuss the growing recognition in the industry of the importance of having early conversations about what everyone needs to do their best work, and Sean shares his advice for creating the...
Amongst other things, Andrew Miller is the UK Arts Access Champion and a broadcaster and cultural consultant and commentator with an impressive CV. In this episode, Michèle asks Andrew about his career so far, and the ‘accidents and disappointments’ that got him to where he is now. Andrew talks about the moments of change that he’s been a part of, the importance of representation and what’s needed for sustaining change. This is a wide-ranging discussion in which Andrew shares his ...
Disability equality leader, Michèle Taylor invites Amy Leach, Deputy Artistic Director at Leeds Playhouse to talk about her work as a director and how her approach has grown as a result of working with disabled and deaf performers. Amy talks about ‘packing on the muscle’ as a director, goosebumps moments, the team you might expect to find in a Ramps rehearsal room, and her advice to ‘just put it in the brochure’.! Amy Leach is Deputy Artistic Director at Leeds Playhouse. She directed ...
Disability equality expert, Michèle Taylor, talks to Dan Bates, former chief executive of The Crucible, Sheffield Playhouse and the Sheffield Lyceum.... asking him how he started to make it happen as a Ramps on the Moon partner. excited to be a part of Ramps on the Moon, the irony of scheduling the first Ramps meeting in a room with all sorts of access challenges, and how his learning has changed his practice as a cultural leader, and the importance of care and attention. Dan Bates is Execu...
Welcome to the Ramps on the Moon Podcast. In this first episode, Anti-Ableist leader, Michèle Taylor invites Sarah Holmes into the recording studio to talk about how Ramps first started; from conception in 2015 to present day. Meeting together for the first time in a London train station café they both knew something very positive and exciting was about to happen in the theatre industry. Listen to their story of how they made things happen; the challenges, the learning and the joys - and w...
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