In 2013, I moved to the North West for university and fell in love with the vibrant and unapologetic nature of theatre-making. I knew that I wanted to build up the cultural significance of work and art in this part of the world. 

My name is Alice Christina Corrigan and I am a visually impaired and neurodivergent actor and writer based in Salford. I have been fortunate to be part of the Developed With programme at The Lowry for the past 18 months. It has been a real privilege to pioneer my practice, and premier my work, with Past Life and FADE. 

In my opinion, Developed With is a premier programme. Not only has it taken me to a new level professionally, it has also allowed me to learn integral skills about being a lead artist, running a full production team, looking at future projects, and ultimately leaving me a confident and creatively driven artist.  

But the support goes a lot further than just the production of FADE. It has made me look at where I sit in the industry and the power I have to make the changes in the UK theatre scene.  

Over the past few years, I knew that wanted to make a piece of work that documented sibling relationships, particularly brother and sister as that is the most important relationship to me. 

When I was a part of the Royal Court writing programme in 2021, each week we were tasked with a different exercise and all I took for stimulus was a brother and a sister. What I ended up with was the beginnings of a jaunty and interesting play where every scene was very different.  

If you look at the play now, you can see how it has taken on that form – two timelines and two sets of memories happening so that everything makes sense.   

As the play grew from that initial inspiration of sibling relationships, it looks at how one decision can change the trajectory of our lives forever, inspired by films like Sliding Doors and Everything Everywhere All at Once. The play also delves into themes of sibling allies, sacrifices made for each other along the way, and whether, knowing the outcome, would we make the same decisions again?    

Over the past five years, I have spent my time working on and developing the technological landscape of creative access in the theatre. I focused on blind and deaf audiences, including the incorporation of integrated audio description and embedded creative captioning, to look at how we can tell significant stories on stage. 

FADE audiences will see a creatively accessible show which tells a harrowing tale. It might make you cry, call your sister or brother, or reflect on your relationships and how they have influenced where you are in life now. At its core, it is telling a vital story on a northern stage, using northern voices for a northern audience.  

By Alice Christina Corrigan

Images courtesy of The Lowry

 

FADE is at The Lowry from April 4-5, 2024. For more information, click here.