Introduction to Good Practice Guide

This guide is the result of a two year process, ‘Opening Doors’, in which three organizsations came together to create creative opportunities for actors with learning disabilities in the three respective countries: Belgium, Malta, and the United Kingdom. This was done through creating a programme of workshops that would then lead to participation in theatre festivals in each country, which for Malta and Belgium were created specifically for the context of the project.

This is not a guide to be followed strictly to the letter. It sets out to offer the full context. This is why it is important to understand the sessions as they are carried out - the particular dynamics of the context of working within these group situations.

We aim to offer materials that you can pick out and which can be re-puzzled depending on the needs and responses of the participants during the working process.

Here we present the journey we all made – reflecting on the process and our learning together.

We are hoping you will use this as an inspirational tool. We are not suggesting that you copy the experience but aim to offer some practical workshops, exercises and tools which you can use and adapt to the needs of your group. There are also other pointers to the process in the form of notes. These include examples of when particular effects were noted or when steps or choices were influenced or made by participants. There are also notes about the journey made:

- progress of participants as actors and within theatre skills
- of participants’ social functioning within group
- of participants’ personal and wider social development


We approach the work with a focus on developing creative processes with actors who have learning disabilities. Within this focus we have been surprised by, and have welcomed comments and feedback from people around the participants’ lives that reflect on the impact of the work on the participants’ behaviour in their social behaviour.

For this manual we have chosen not to present everything in the same format to show how you can unify and learn from difference. We have organised a structure which guides the reader through contributions which are as different as the work has been. This spirit is about recognising that everyone makes contribution in different ways– it is this acknowledgment of diversity which has informed all our practice.

Approach the guide with the same openness of attitude as we approached our groups. We invite you to reflect this back in your work. It has been an exciting collaboration, with many levels of learning for all people involved. We invite you to join us for the continuing journey. Do contact us for comment, further info or discussion or indeed if you are interested in partnership working.