Let’s talk Benched - with Jamila Main and Amy Sole

L-R: Jamila Main, Amy Sole and Shetu Simone. Image description: Jamila is sitting in their wheelchair and smiling at the camera. Amy stands slightly behind Jamila and and smiles at the camera. Shetu is sitting in a blue chair next to Jamila.

We rarely see disabled bodies on our stages. Jamila Main created Benched to tell joyful and nuanced stories about disability, and to create access opportunities for the disabled community, who are often left out of theatre spaces.

Eagerly waiting for my powerhouse of guests to arrive at the office for a chin wag, I start to think about the vast range of tv series, movies and stage shows where I’ve witnessed a hint - or even smell a whiff of - disability diversity in the cast or crew. I say “vast range” with a large scoop of sarcasm.

Jamila created Benched from their bathtub while going through a horrible flare-up. They meditated on their childhood memories of sport and athleticism, in contrast to their current declining mobility.

Their story isn’t uncommon. One in five Australians is disabled*, and 80% of all disabilities are invisible. Many people became disabled during the recent global pandemic.

I had a conversation with playwright and actor Jamila Main and director and dramaturg Amy Sole on, not just why audiences need to see the show, but their burning purpose behind creating Benched.

Shetu: Hi welcome. My name's Shetu Simone and I'm the community engagement specialist and comms coordinator for Darlinghurst Theatre. I'm here with two wonderful human beings who are opening a show that’s premiering for the first time in New South Wales. It's called Benched. Can you please introduce yourselves?

Jamila: My name is Jamila Main. My pronouns are they/them, and I am the creator and performer of Benched.

Amy: My name's Amy sole. My pronouns are they/them, I'm a proud Wiradjuri Worimi person and I am the director of Benched.

S: Excellent. Ah, this is really exciting guys. This is a really special interesting immersive theatre experience, and we wanna let the people know how they can get involved, what it's about and why this is so unique. First time in a theatre, right?

J: Yeah, it's the first time this show is happening in a theatre with an audience. It's previously been done one-on-one.

S: So what is the show about? Give us a roundabout idea and let us know why it's unique. We'll start with you, Jamila.

J: Yeah, so Benched began as a one-on-one work where I wanted to share a moment with someone else where I explore the athleticism within a disabled body whose mobility changes our past and our present and our future. And I wanted to make a show that honoured my access needs and honoured what my body needs and also that of my audience member.

So it's been designed to be as accessible as I can make it with the resources that I have so that even if you can't come into the theatre or join me on the bench, you can watch it remotely in a variety of different ways, which I haven't seen from any other show before. You can watch the live stream, you can buy a zoom ticket and talk to me on the bench via zoom. You can buy a pre-recorded version of the show and watch it whenever you want.

And so I like to imagine there's a bunch of disabled people in their beds or in their couches or in their bathtubs getting to share the show with me. Because so often we are excluded from theatre and as someone who has been unable to attend shows because of my body, but also because of how the structures of theatre work I don't want to give anyone else that feeling.

S: Why is it you unique to you Amy?

A:  I think one of the things that this work does that is incredibly unique and important, and I honestly believe is the future of where theatre is heading, is the idea of authenticity of story and truth telling and a collective shared experience. We've just gone through something that was deeply collective living through the pandemic. And now having Jamila take that space as a disabled human to share their experience with other disabled humans who come to watch and other people who aren't disabled to share in that experience, not just one on one, but as an entire theatre that is incredibly unique and a massive privilege. Yeah, that makes me like so happy. I'm so excited.

S: Nice. So you basically just touched on why it's unique, right. But why is it important?

A: Oh!

J: Ooft. Oh my Lord. Like.

A: Where do we begin?

J: Yes!

A: Where do you start? That is a question.

J: I think you start with where the fuck are all the disabled people on our stages? And the one time you do include them, you cast some non-disabled human to like sit in my wheelchair, take my cane or my glasses and perform a mockery that the abled’s* think is accurate and beautiful and inspiring, but is revolting and disgusting. And how dare you. So getting a disabled body on a stage and on a stage at the level of that Darlo is, is tremendous. And all the other theatre companies need to look at what we're doing and pay attention and change what they've been doing and not just cast disabled people in disabled roles, but in all the roles.

I think this show is rocketing into the present.

A: [Agreeing]

J: And insisting everyone else meet us where we're at.

A: And beyond. It's to meet us here in the present and to understand that this is the future of where we're heading, which is, who have been missing from our stories. How do we tell those stories? How do we shift and change to create stories collectively at this point in time? And it's exciting, because not many people are brave enough to do it. Not many people are not problematic. [Laugh] You know, like just to go, hey, what are we doing? Why are we doing it? We're human beings, making art. We should be including everybody's story. And everyone's way of creating that work should be accessible to all. And this work does that.

J: Yeah.

A: You know, it's Jamila's story and there's a snippet of, their world in there. But there's many people that will also be reflected in their world and seen and heard and maybe people that then get to learn and see that world, which is huge.

J: And for many, it might be their future and they don't know it yet. And when it arrives, they'll remember the show and they'll remember that it's okay.

A: Yeah. And it's, starting to play with and look at the idea of dramatisation within theatre and storytelling. Like there's this beautiful gift of figuring out that they can be a lot of really beautiful things in your theatre space. That's not just dramatic. It's exciting. It's renewing it's educational. It's it's ecstatic. It's tingly. It's…it's thrilling! It's loving, it's holding. It's generous. Not just like, oh, we're driving really hard towards a climax. That's gonna happen. And then the show's gonna end. It's about coming together and sharing an experience. Yes. And so people can be held and people are incredibly held by this show to listen, to learn, to show up, to have an orange. If you want one…

J: Please take one. Don't make me eat them on my own.

A: [Laughs] Everyone have an orange.

J: [Laughs]

S: Can you describe the experience you want the audience to have seeing the show?

J: Oh I want the audience to feel excited and to feel like they are entering a space and a world and a show that they have never entered before. And to get to explore it in a safe way, in an honest way, and to have a deep moment where they can meditate with themselves and ponder their history and their own bodies and to be present with what their bodies can and can't do. I think there might be a few people in the audience who realise that they are also disabled during the show. And I think there'll be lots of moments of realisations for people. I think I want them to get to be candid and honest with themselves and be present and confronted with something that they might not often think about and may deliberately choose not to look at, but I want them to have fun. [Laughs] I want them to enjoy themselves and to be left, feeling alive and connected and in love with the disabled community. As much as I am in love with the disabled community. What about you?

A: I think everything that you just said was exactly what I would say, especially for me. For them to enter into a world that they never thought about or have thought about or have experienced, but now can come to that understanding that familiarity…to enter into this world of being disabled. And to sit in it where they sit in it individually and to have this storyteller and this performer to hold that space is pretty incredible. And to be very present the idea of being present in a space and this world, is a whole massive world. The disabled community is an incredible community that has held me through so many things. That has held people I love through so many things. And to share that with an audience, to share that with our community, to have them come in, see the show, experience, see their story, see Jamila's story. Yeah, it's something about the gift of that. I think that's the experience.

J: Yeah…yeah.

A: And the nostalgia, the orange slices, the incredible outfit.

J: [Laughs]

A: Just superb.

J: I think it's still just so precious to get, to see disabled stories on stage. And for so many people, this will be the first time they've seen an actually disabled person on stage in a way that they know, they know, they know that this person is disabled when they are watching it, not something they discover when they, you know, do tons of research.

A: Yeah.

J: And troll through someone's Instagram and figure it out.

A: It's un-ashameful in the storytelling of what it is. And I don't think that that's something that I know as a disabled human that I've ever experienced ever let alone on this scale within like a public forum, like this to be fully and deeply, not just unashamed, but joyful, grief, all of the things that come along with it, but not shame. Like there's just real space, real genuine space.

J: It feels really necessary.

A: Needed. Really, really needed. Yeah. Deeply needed.

S:  Agreed. Entirely agreed.

A: And it's healing.

J: Yeah. Like so many people would've become disabled through the pandemic. We have so many new people joining the disabled community and they might not have any connection to it and they might be isolated and hopefully they stumble across our show and realise that they're not alone.

S: How do we find them? How do we reach out to these people? How do we get them to the show? We want everyone to get involved.

A: You create works like this. And that's the biggest thing, right? This is us saying it's safe. This is a safe show for you to come and see, this is a community based show. This is created by community for community, with community. And then also sharing it with people outside of our community. Generously! It's safe. It's not…it's not objectifying or using community. It's made by us. And that's it, like make it and they will come. What's the quote? I don't know the quote. Whatever that quote is probably by some old white dude, but it's that right? Like it's…it's real. And on opening night, there's an incredible gallery…

J: …yeah. We have an exhibition happening in the foyer of Darlo curated by the amazing Ruby Allegra, who's a phenomenal disabled activist and artist. And they're gonna bring all this other amazing artwork by other amazing disabled artists. So it's gonna be our space.

A: It's our space and it's curated by us but it's sharing. Yeah. We are sharing that space. Like we're deeply welcoming you in to come and experience this. In fact, we're encouraging it. Come see the show. Be there, turn up, listen, be present and experience theatre like you've never experienced it before.

J: This show cannot function without an audience. It doesn't work with, I need someone to buy a ticket and sit on the bench. [Laughs] Like this show is not about sitting in a dark room and watching a bunch of actors do their thing that they could do, you know, in a rehearsal room. Fine. Like, no, this show needs its living, breathing audience.

S: Get involved! With open arms is what I'm hearing.

A: Generously jump into it. Yes, yes. We love.

J: Yes. Like you better believe I'm gonna be running into the foyer after every show so I can just meet as many people as I can.

S: And that's a nice thing about theatre. Being able to hang around the foyer to meet the artists and just be involved in the work as much as you can. Because it's all inclusive.

A: …and we have some of the most exciting young, disabled artists like in and around this show. So that in itself is just incredible.

S: So great. Thank you so much. And we hope that everyone can be involved in the show in some ways or shape or form.

J: Thank you!

A: Thank you. Thank you for having us. Woo!

Benched will run from Wednesday 25 May until Sunday 29 May. Learn more and book your tickets HERE.

* one in five people are disabled source: Australian Network on Disability

* abled’s = disability slang for non-disabled people