Artistic Director & Founder

Many years ago my life was changed for the better when I encountered the brave new world of inclusive performing arts in London. I founded Total Ensemble in 2011 because there was nowhere to continue or develop this experience in Norfolk.

I trained in contemporary dance during the late 80’s. In class I enjoyed many a laugh with one of my peers, Adam Benjamin, who went on to found Candoco. His drive and brilliance inspired me enormously. Those early days and indeed years of Candoco were nothing short of revolutionary.

After performing in comedy revue and theatre in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe, I trained as an actor at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and went on to work at Chickenshed.

Here, I performed alongside people with extreme challenges, both physical and emotional. I experienced first-hand their refusal to let anything stop them from following their dreams to perform.

Someone had to facilitate this alongside those that wanted and/or needed support – and I do not mean non-disabled people helping the disabled – I mean everyone helping everyone in the best way they could. I experienced that at Chickenshed for the first time. The real work and play of creating and performing with every type of human, all of us vulnerable, some more than others and all of us united in performance. I witnessed artists and educators of all abilities working tirelessly and passionately to create a space where very different types of people could meet and become equals in their endeavours.

I have always believed that difference and crucially, heart-felt and actioned acceptance of difference, an authentic celebration of difference, among all of us human beings, is what makes humankind tick.

I have always been drawn to the person that unwittingly outshines everyone from the sidelines by simply being themselves, or one that flies in leftfield and surprises everyone, jolting them out of their safe, slumbering herd-mentality and social restraint.

Words are rapidly losing their power with overuse, misuse, abuse, buzz words, political correctness, platitudes, and opinion. If we rely more on language and less on action to attain good social change, standards of living, freedom of expression and all the rest, we might not make the world a better place after all!

Inclusion and inclusive are among the first words I would like to see disappear due to lack of necessity. If we continue to allow circumstances whereby we still need to use words like that, so be it, until we finally GET it. But lets GET it quicker!

Performance and inclusion are inseparable if the full, unfettered human story is to be told and lived out on stage, or anywhere else for that matter.

Rebecca Chapman
Founder and Artistic Director
Total Ensemble Theatre Company