This year, award-winning choreographer Hayley Earlam will present her new work Brrr at the Fringe as part of the Made in Scotland Showcase.
A leader in the practice of sensory choreography and integrated performance, Earlam is a dance artist, choreographer and facilitator based in Glasgow whose work centres inclusivity, accessibility and sensory performance for young and disabled audiences with complex needs.
Her latest piece Brrr is a multi-sensory installation and dance performance for young audiences with complex needs aged 10-18, created in collaboration with young people and artists specialising in inclusive practice.
If you reviewed your own show, how would you describe it?
Reviewing Brrr is quite difficult because it wasn’t made for me. It was created specifically for young people with complex needs, so any real review has to begin with their responses rather than my own.
Tell me a little more about your show and what audiences can expect?
Brrr is a little disruptive to conventional theatre. You’re welcome to move around, vocalise, leave and come back, or engage with the performance in whatever way feels right. They’re all the things people often wish they could do at the theatre, but usually feel they can’t.
The show was created specifically for young people with complex needs, including autistic and neurodivergent young people and those with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD). Rather than adapting an existing production, we first started with the audience’s needs, interests and ways of experiencing the world, creating something fully bespoke to them.
Brrr is an immersive exploration of winter, set inside a giant inflatable dome. Audiences enter into an abstract wintery world of contemporary dance, original music, immersive video and transformative lighting. There are different seating options too, each offering a unique sensory experience, and inviting audiences to explore the dome in their own way and at their own pace.
Can you talk about some of the creative team involved?
Brrr was created by a team of disabled and non-disabled creatives, but the most important collaborators were the young people the work was made for.
We spent time in two Additional Support Needs schools in Scotland. We hung out in classrooms, got to know the young people, observed how they interacted with their environments and learned about what interested and engaged them.
From there, we transformed a school gym hall into a theatre and invited the young people into the creative process through a series of live performance research rehearsals. Every rehearsal became an opportunity to test ideas, adapt the work and respond to what the young people were telling us in their own unique ways.
Their responses shaped every aspect of Brrr. It was a genuinely collaborative process, and the show simply wouldn’t exist without their expertise.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your work, both in terms of creation and performance?
Brrr was born from the contradictions of winter. As a Scot, it’s the season I experience most and it’s beautiful, but often unpredictable and turbulent. The festive period brings a whirlwind of parties, events and social gatherings, whilst the weather disrupts most plans to go out. Although our bodies naturally crave rest and slower rhythms during these darker months, winter often becomes the busiest and most overwhelming time of the year.
For the young people I make work for, that combination of heightened sensory stimulation and disrupted routine can be especially challenging. I wanted to create a show that acknowledged the turbulence of winter while offering something different: a space to slow down, regulate and simply be.
There’s a lovely irony in bringing Brrr to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. For many Edinburgh residents, festival season is its own kind of winter with busy streets, packed venues and an incredible amount of sensory activity. I’m excited that Brrr can offer audiences a chance to escape that for a while and experience a pocket of calm in the middle of the festival.
What do you do to relax in August?
I don’t think there’ll be much relaxing happening in August! Whenever I can, I’ll escape back to Glasgow to spend time with my husband, Alex, and our dog, Woody. Those little moments away help me to reset.
I’d love to say I’ll be embracing something restorative like yoga, meditation and early nights… but the reality is I’ll probably be binge-watching reality TV. Give me Below Deck or RuPaul’s Drag Race and I’m very happy to fully switch off.
How do you feel about the current arts landscape in your country and your part in it? Does it excite you and inspire you to keep pushing the boat out?
It’s a challenging time to be making work like Brrr. The piece is intentionally immersive and responsive, which means audience numbers are tiny. Each performance welcomes just eight young people, alongside their accompanying adults. It’s not a model that makes financial sense if success is measured purely by box office returns.
That’s why the opportunity to be part of the Made in Scotland Showcase is so significant. This has enabled us to present the work without compromising the experience or increasing audience numbers simply to make it financially viable. That support sends a powerful message that audiences with complex needs are valued at the world’s largest performing arts festival.
At a time where the Scottish arts sector is facing increasing financial pressures, it must be tempting to prioritise projects that maximise ticket sales. However, if we only support work with the biggest audiences, we risk excluding communities who already have the fewest opportunities to experience culture. I hope Brrr demonstrates that the value of a piece of theatre can’t always be measured by how many people are in the room.
Why are arts festivals such as the Fringe so important for international exchange?
If we can present Brrr at the largest arts festival in the world, then the statement it makes internationally is loud and clear: disabled audiences belong here, and they deserve high-quality theatre made specifically with them in mind.
Arts festivals like the Fringe are powerful because they bring together artists, audiences and programmers from across the world. They create opportunities to share ideas, challenge assumptions and demonstrate what’s possible. I hope Brrr encourages people to think differently about access, not as an accommodation, but as something that can generate inspiring artistic work.
The Fringe’s vision is “to give everyone a seat”, and I love that Brrr embodies that in its own way. Although, in our show, your seat might not actually be a seat at all. It could also be a beanbag, a gym ball, an inflatable sofa or a squishy mattress (seats are also available).
Have you got your eye on any other shows that are part of the programme?
One show I have to shout about is Boys Don’t Dance by Marc Brew Company. I’m the Rehearsal Director, so it is a completely shameless plug, but I’ve seen the production well over 100 times and I’d happily watch it 100 times more.
It’s a beautifully crafted family show and what I love most is that accessibility isn’t treated as an add-on. Instead, it is woven playfully and seamlessly into the fabric of the performance. The cast are also magnetic, and it’s one of those rare productions that can appeal to children and adults alike.
What’s next for you and how are you feeling about the future in general?
After the Fringe, Brrr will embark on its first Scottish tour, visiting theatre venues and Additional Support Needs (ASN) schools throughout winter. I’m incredibly excited to bring the production to more young people with complex needs across the country.
The Fringe also marks the beginning of the next chapter. As soon as we finish our Edinburgh run, we’ll begin research on babybrrr, an adaptation for early years audiences and working in association with Starcatchers – Scotland’s arts organisation for early years. It feels like a natural progression of my practice, continuing to explore how sensory theatre can create meaningful experiences for audiences whose needs are so often overlooked.
Despite the challenges facing the arts sector, I feel optimistic. There is a growing recognition that accessibility isn’t just about removing barriers but as a catalyst for creativity. I hope to keep making work that proves theatre can be artistically ambitious and artistically accessible.
How can Edinburgh audiences keep up with you beyond the festival?
If you’d like to follow the journey beyond the Fringe, you can find me on Instagram at @hearlam or visit my website at www.hayleyearlam.co.uk.
There’s a dedicated Brrr page with everything you might need before visiting the show, including a social story, the soundtrack, and information about sharing your access requirements to help make the journey to the theatre as smooth as possible.
Last year, I completed my Master’s thesis on sensory theatre. 16,000 words is a bit much for a quick read so I’ve distilled down some of the key learnings and reflections from the research into an accessible article on the website.
Brrr, The Great Hall at Nicolson Square Venues, 18 – 22 Aug, various times