Visually impaired creative consultant works with Watermill on Morpurgo tale

The Watermill rehearsals are going well for Michael Morpurgo’s The Sleeping Sword, adapted by Tatty Hennessy and directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson, which opens at the Bagnor theatre next Thursday and plays to November 5.

‘I’m not a king or a wizard… but I do have a story to tell’... Meet Ben Bundle.

He likes fishing and snorkelling, jumping off rocks and exploring the magical island of Bryher with his friends.

But after an accident leaves him blind, he fears his days of adventure are over – until one day he is swept into the realm of his favourite story, the ancient legend of King Arthur, and Bun’s world changes forever.

Get ready for a gripping adventure where a broken promise, a magic sword and a ghostly king reveal to Bun a life-changing quest of his own.

A tale about magic, mystery, hope, love, triumph and disaster, The Sleeping Sword weaves a contemporary tale of self-discovery with Arthurian legend in a way that is utterly spellbinding.

Every performance of The Sleeping Sword will feature the use of creative captioning and integrated audio description.

Visually impaired creative consultant Amy Bethan Evans said: “Tatty put a call out for a visually impaired dramaturg for the project and I responded.

“When we met, I knew I wanted to work with her and that she was totally committed to turning this story into something visually impaired people could both access and relate to.

“We have worked on making Bun’s journey one towards acceptance of himself as a blind person and I don’t think you can do that without the input of a visually impaired artist.”

www.watermill.org.uk

After the Watermill run, The Sleeping Sword heads out on tour to schools across Berkshire and Wiltshire.