Dark comedy A Small Enclosed Room with Alfie Murphy (October 11-12) is the first in a series of three new co-productions presented by award-winning company Access All Areas and The Lowry, aiming to stage thought-provoking drama from learning-disabled and autistic creatives.
Created in collaboration with writers Shaun Dunne (How to Tell a Secret, Netflix) and Leah Moore (Good Omens, Amazon Prime), the new partnership aims to improve representation of learning disabled-led art, putting learning-disabled and autistic artists at the centre of things.
The collaboration will include new productions co-created with Access All Areas associate artists, and strengthen The Lowry’s commitment to audiences and participants.
A Small Enclosed Room with Alfie Murphy leads audiences through the various worlds of actor/writer Cian Binchy’s imagination, combining his signature, comedic style with an alternative Noughties soundtrack. Alfie, is a rockstar-turned-guru created by Binchy in his surreal world of fantasies, failure and fame. The production explores the question that if the person we show the world is just a mask, what’s really underneath? An authentic self? Or just stories we tell to protect ourselves?
Cian Binchy said: "It's important to see neurodivergent art made by neurodivergent people, as it’s not seen enough. A lot of autistic people struggle with identity and masking and it's important to understand that autistic people can be wearing a mask to fit in with society and might be afraid about showing their true self.
"I think it’s good for people to understand how fantasy works in autistic minds and how we shut off the world, and also try to connect with different people using fantasy. This show explores that."
Matthew Eames, head of theatres at The Lowry, said: "It’s great to welcome back Cian and Access All Areas. They are an incredibly exciting company and this production marks their first as a partner organisation with us."
More info and tickets here