With Young People

We scaffold safe and active environments where young people aged 7-19 explore their own lives and the wider world through drama and theatre. They co-create dynamic, thought-provoking, original, socially-engaged theatre alongside professional theatre artists, with the young people's ideas, emotions, voices and experiences at the heart.

Our recent productions have explored identity, home, growing up in a rural landscape, mental health struggles, queerness, pressures of social media, the UK education system, influence of relationships and friendships on young people’s lives, the development of the teenage brain, and what it’s like growing up in the here and now.

Our productions and projects platform and amplify young people’s voices, experiences, and intersectional needs, with the intention of creatively communicating the social change that young people want to see to the decision makers empowered to make it happen. We also use the insights gained from our rich and meaningful relationships with young people to advocate on young people’s behalf, in decision making spaces from which they are excluded.

Team Mortal Fools have pulled together a downloadable resource to signpost to a wide variety of well-being and mental health support organisations, friends of Mortal Fools and inspirational influencers, courageous activists and colourful content creators. 
You can use this resource if you need inspiration, want to connect with others, to explore your identity and/or if you are seeking mental health and wellbeing support. It can also be used to support others in your life too.

You can download our Wellbeing Resource for Young People & Mortal Fools Community here:

Wellbeing Resource for Young People & Mortal Fools Community

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Anti-Racism

We denounce racism, discrimination and inequality in all its forms.

We believe that diversity strengthens and enriches us, and that it is the responsibility of all arts organisations to make the arts and cultural sector a more diverse and equitable place.

Whilst we cannot undo pain and neglect, we are calling on everyone in the arts, cultural, and heritage sectors -  professional and voluntary - to work together to address racism and its deep roots. We must listen, have conversations, and, most importantly, act. We know that we need to do better, and that our entire Mortal Fools community is part of the solution.

We want to tackle racism together by sharing better understanding and practices. We stand united to bring about change in our thinking and actions, and ask you to stand with us.

You can find Anti-Racism resources here, and resources for supporting the Black Lives Matter movement here.

As of 2022, Mortal Fools has:

• invested in, and worked with, 8 Northumberland organisations on a research project to understand audiences, their intersectionality, and cultural participation.
• reviewed our recruitment practices and developed new procedures to support us in developing a more representative workforce.
• ensured our board and staff complete Anti-Racism training from Charity So White, and Unconscious Bias training from Talawa Theatre Company.
• supported our Communications and Audience Development Manager to complete the Heads Up Leadership Programme from Arts Marketing Association - which explores the responsibility those in marketing roles have for social justice; focusing on equity, access, and participation.

We pledge to continue to:

• acknowledge our privilege and biases as an organisation with a white core team and board of trustees. As an activist organisation, we seek to use our privilege to make space for others and to support and amplify unheard or ignored voices.
• make time to talk to artists, theatre makers, audiences, participants, and friends from the global majority about what belonging and racial equity looks like within their lives and work, and how we can support that.
• create safe spaces for young people and our Mortal Fools community to talk about racism.
• work with more black artists and theatre professionals on a freelance and partnership basis - through existing opportunities and developing new ones.

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Accessibility and Inclusion

We create safe spaces which support and encourage everyone to be their authentic, imperfect selves - with individual strengths, vulnerabilities, lived experiences, emotions and needs. We recognise, respect and embrace our differences; understanding that this makes us all stronger, more empathetic, and wiser.

We strive to meet the needs of everyone we work with; making sure that our company is welcoming and inclusive to people from all walks of life. We create environments and hold safe and brave spaces that are genuinely supportive and accessible - where everyone feels valued as an individual, and is enabled to contribute.

We are committed to removing barriers for artists, participants, and audience members who identify as disabled and/or living with long-term health conditions.

On an organisational level, we:

• have a named accessibility and inclusion staff member in our leadership team – you can connect with her via email at rachel.horton@mortalfools.org.uk.
• seek to work with those who also value authenticity, openness, continuous learning and meaningful inclusion.
• regularly hold space in our team meetings, project meetings, and partner meetings to share learning
• prioritise audience experiences and inclusion across all levels of our work.
• use the approach of “have we explained that clearly?” instead of "does that make sense?". We believe it’s our responsibility to communicate clearly and transparently, as opposed to placing the responsibility on others to interpret what we say.
• strive to work with a wide range of artists, theatre companies and organisations that match our values and represent a range of lived experiences and intersectional needs.
• enable folks to be their best authentic self, by providing access support, offering flexible working, and creating regular opportunities for folks to share what they need.
• check in with our staff, board, artists, beneficiaries, partners, and the wider Mortal Fools community regularly. We invest in building meaningful relationships and open and honest lines of communication, so folks can connect and engage with us on their terms.
• provide opportunities for our practitioners and young people to experience creative work made by others; to engage with other organisations and learn from them. We also hold space to reflect upon that learning and to share it with others, to feed into our constant evolution.
• invite critical friends with lived experience to attend our events, experience our activities, consume our content, and read strategic documents - to gain feedback that we can meaningfully respond to.
• provide regular opportunities for folks to share their personal pronouns if they wish to.
• only work in accessible venues (near good transport links and wheelchair accessible). We are currently developing a Mortal Fools Partner Pack to support this, which will clearly outline what we need to have in place to enable us provide safe and accessible spaces.
• are a member of #WeShallNotBeRemoved - an intersectional UK Disability Arts Alliance formed as an emergency response to the pandemic. It’s a forum to advocate, to campaign, and support D/deaf, neurodivergent, and disabled creative practitioners and organisations.

In all of our activities, we:

• seek to demystify what happens in theatre, our projects and our spaces. We do this by using clear non-arts language, providing “what to expect” style resources, and clear accessibility guidance.
• ensure our Mortal Fools facilitators are experienced in holding safe and brave spaces, that are responsive to intersectional needs. and support folks to be themselves and engage. We provide pictures and some information about Mortal Fools facilitators ahead of participants joining our groups or attending our workshops.
• proactively ask about accessibility requirements and provide space for folks to meaningfully share them.
• provide resources in a range of formats - although this is an area we know we need to improve on.
• provide information to those attending our in-person events and performances in advance, to ensure people feel comfortable and aware of what to expect. This includes accessibility information, content themes, sensory information, travel information, and support available.
• ensure that all Mortal fools events and performances are relaxed, and that folks know they are welcome to come and go as they need to.
• are working towards incorporating audio descriptions in 2023.
• open the event space 15 minutes in advance, so folks can see the space, get comfortable, and touch the set.
• have multiple wheelchair spaces available at our performances and events.
• provide a careers/companion ticket for folks that need one.
• ensure our touring schedules include one performance which is BSL interpreted, and that scripts are always available in advance. Our ambition is to bolster this provision in future. 
• ensure that all of our digital content is captioned, framed appropriately, and - where appropriate - provide downloadable resources to support people to engage with the content and related discussions in various youth settings.

When recruiting, we:

• have publicly shared our approach to recruitment.
• issue recruitment information in a range of formats.
• accept written, audio, and video application formats.
• clearly explain what we expect to see demonstrated and evidenced in an application.
• assess all applications anonymously.
• reply to everyone who applies - providing all applicants with concise, personalised feedback.
• provide interview questions in advance, to support preparation.
• provide expenses to attend interviews.
• provide detailed feedback to all unsuccessful interview candidates.

We are always open to feedback, and we recognise that we are on an accessibility and inclusion journey. We are constantly learning and evolving, and that means that sometimes we may get it wrong or miss something that would be helpful. If you’d like to connect with us, feel free to drop us an email at admin@mortalfools.org.uk.