Blue Apple Theatre

[3] In 2016 members of the company, four with Down syndrome, performed scenes from Shakespeare on stage in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe Theatre in London.

Blue Apple was founded in 2005 by Jane Jessop to provide opportunities for people with a wide range of learning disabilities to participate in theatre and dance.

Jane's final project was a tenth birthday performance event on stage at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.

The play toured nationally and was performed to over 4,000 people including MPs and ministers in Parliament and over 600 school children and 800 police personnel.

[10] In March 2012, Blue Apple Theatre received funding from the Home Office for the filmmaker Will Jessop to create a film adaptation of the play for and with Hampshire Constabulary.

The story of Blue Apple's Hamlet is the subject of Will Jessop's Emmy-nominated BBC3 feature documentary, "Growing Up Down's" [15][16] The Times reviewed it as "a triumph for the cast, for BBC Three, and for everyone involved in this life-enhancing project."

University of York academic, Dr Sarah Olive, argued that there was scope for the documentary to give greater opportunity for self-advocacy to the actors with learning disabilities featured.

"Paul's Story" stars James Elsworthy and tackles difficult issues around hate crime aimed at people with learning disabilities.