Showing disabled bodies on stage can be to some extent understood as a political aesthetic as it challenges the predominately abled audience's expectations as well as traditional theatre conventions.
To bring about its end is an industry wide task - inciting best practice guidelines and multi-disciplinary non-hierarchical collaboration….
[9]This campaigning has become more publicly visible especially in the UK with mainstream news vendors such as The Guardian,[10][11] The Economist,[12] the BBC,[13][14] PBS News,[15] HuffPost[16] and The Stage[17][18] have published articles on the historic exclusion of visible disability both from stage and screens, as well as the need for change from within the industry.
This methodology draws inspiration from what is often termed as colour-blind casting, where the presumption is removed from every character in a script that they are white.
[25] Casting disabled actors as a process has two creative lenses to consider: This is a role that is very similar to a regular dramaturge.
The engagement of a disability dramaturge happens at the start of the casting process to help directors identify characters that could be played by visibly disabled actors, and discuss ideas that come from potential choices and the lenses that bring to the meaning of the play, TV drama or movie.
The engagement progresses beyond casting in a traditional way, working with the director and the actors by focusing on aspects of storytelling and meaning.
The aim is to ensure that both authenticity and creative opportunity stay forefront with regards to visible disability.
It provides an extra sense of experience and perspective that ultimately strengthens the correct representation of disability on stage in a respectful manner.
[31] Tennessee Williams explains that the character Laura (The Glass Menagerie) has grown up with a disability: "A childhood illness has left her crippled, one leg slightly shorter than the other, and held in a brace.
"[32][33] The musical Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman has been running on Broadway since 2003, and has launched multiple national tours and productions worldwide.
Plays about important disabled historical figures can be fraught with difficulties when a non-disabled actor is cast.
Understanding what it is to be a disabled person is far more than portraying a condition and how Joseph Merrick's story has evolved from John Merrick in The Elephant Man, a play that drifts from his story missing not only much of who he was (even his name is wrong) and what it is to be a disabled person, to a play that dives deeply into the lived experience.
The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man by Tom Wright premiered on 4 August 2017,[43] starring Daniel Monks in the title role.
The play toured the UK in 2023, directed by Stephen Bailey and starring Zak Ford-Williams as Joseph.
Barry & Vernon Morris, Mike Kenny, Bryony Lavery, Nicolas Billon and Sandi Toksvig The UK's Royal National Theatre launched a service in 2021 aimed at Casting Directors called ProFile[47] which enables access professional disabled actor details and a showreel in the form of a short performance.