Spark; our new sensory experience for audiences with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD) took to movie theatres in May as we introduced this epic new work at TAPAC and Matakana Cinema.

Spark tells the moving story of a teenage girl with a heart condition, isolated from the world as her mother tries to prevent her from getting ill. Kate and her mum struggle to navigate their new normal as Kate longs to be reunited with her friends and, most of all, her beloved horses. This new work sees Kiwi sensation Jackie Clarke star alongside Lily Mae Ivatt-Oakley, recently seen on the TVNZ series Down For Love.

Multi-sensory theatre has always been a very important part of our work, at Glass Ceiling Arts Collective, as it opens up exciting new opportunities for engaging in a story through the use of all 5 senses: smell, taste, touch, sight and sound. It’s ideal for drawing a response from people with profound learning disabilities, in the different ways they connect and understand the world around them.

We’ve devised Spark so it can be enjoyed in a variety of ways:

through film
in a sensory workshop
by attending a live performance.

Research shows that repetition and familiarity can be very comforting for people in our target audience, and so we hope that everyone will enjoy Spark in all it’s differing flavours.

Sensory Workshops

The audience's immediate response to Spark has been incredible, so we’re planning more sensory workshop screenings in the near future. Please contact us if you would like a workshop in a venue near you.

Spark Live

Spark LIVE will see footage from the film combined with live theatre and the use of sensory devices in a promenade production featuring original music by New Zealand Composer Sam Jones (Goldman Sax). Lily Mae Ivatt- Oakley and Jackie Clarke will bring the story to life as they tour Auckland in late August and then across the motu from February 2024.

The Auckland shows, set for August 2023, are SOLD OUT! Sorry! However, we are in the throes of planning the national tour of SparkLIVE in early 2024. If you would like us to bring SparkLIVE to you in 2024, please contact us today!.

This short film, from the workshop at TAPAC in Auckland, gives a sense of why multi-sensory theatre is so very important to our audiences. Enjoy!

Spark was made with funding from Creative New Zealand, Foundation North and Arts Access Aotearoa.