Chapter 17 - Flute Theatre, Shakespeare and Autism

Summary

This conversation between Robert Shaughnessy and Kelly Hunter, which was recorded in December 2019 and so prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, gives an account of the principles and practices of Flute Theatre, a company founded by Hunter in 2014 to create Shakespeare performances with autistic young persons and their families. Beginning with the origins of the Hunter Heartbeat Method (HHM) in workshop game activities devised and developed by Hunter in a range of educational and community settings in the 1990s, the discussion highlights the core values of HHM: that the work is primarily artistic rather than pedagogic, therapeutic or remedial, and that performances are not designed to alleviate or overcome autistic symptoms and behaviour (classically, challenges in communication, personal interaction and repetitive and stereotyped behaviours) but to create a rhythmic space for interactive play. It tracks the evolution of a company and body of work that as to date resulted in three productions, The Tempest (2014), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2017) and Pericles (2019) and has led to the formation of a globally connected community of players, participants, supporters and artistic allies and collaborators, working across borders and in multiple languages.