A Liverpool community theatre group is challenging the stigma that defines people by their disabilities. Elektrik Apple, founded in 2012 by Carol Darby after she struggled to find performing arts opportunities for her daughter Leanne, has grown from a small meeting in a Sayers bakery to a full production company.
From Bakery to Stage
The 79-year-old founder told the ECHO: "We sat in Sayers bakery in town and we thought, 'what do we do?' So we thought, we'll open our own, so we came to [The Liverpool Lighthouse in Anfield] on a wet day. We brought four of five people with disabilities and from there. Since then, we just added to the group. If you can sing, dance or act, we'll give you a chance."
Carol recruited her other daughter, Nicola Broadley, a professional singer, to run the drama group. The 53-year-old writes and directs original shows for the actors, whom she compares to a West End cast. She told the ECHO: "Every person, whether they're able bodied or in a chair, whether they've got a learning difficulty, autism or Down syndrome all have the one passion, which is performance. They're all incredible and they don't want to be treated differently from a mainstream actor. It's like working with a West End cast. This is a full on production company."
Overcoming Labels
Nicola is determined to overcome people being defined by their labels. She said: "One of the carers came the other day and asked, 'Is that a Down syndrome girl getting attacked' and I said, 'No, that's Nicola.' That's Nicola and she's an amazing actress. Is that the blind girl doing that song? No that's Jayne. This is a cast and that's how they're treated. I am proud of them. I've wrote scripts for mainstream schools and theatre shows and thought, 'That wasn't right. They didn't portray it how I wanted. These do. They get it. It's not about the disability. It's about their ability and their ability is incredible. A blind girl running across the stage, singing songs, being attacked. We have a girl with schizophrenia who doesn't hear a voice when she's anywhere near that stage. Those things completely get washed away."
New Thriller 'You Are My Sunshine'
The latest play, a thriller titled 'You Are My Sunshine', debuts at The Liverpool Lighthouse. The show is deliberately darker than traditional community theatre, at the cast's request. Liam Claeys, 41, from Whiston, plays the lead role of a serial killer. He said: "Unfortunately there's not many drama groups for people with disabilities anymore. At Elektrik Apple, we're all friends and family. It's so special this group. Just because we've got a disability doesn't mean we can't be better than mainstream. I hate that word, 'mainstream', because there's people in this drama group now who are better than mainstream."
The show features musical numbers, including a moving song performed by Melissa Morton and Jayne Massey. Jayne, who is blind, navigates the stage using dotted markers. Melissa, 34, from Walton, who has autism, said: "It's like a second family. Singing has been our lives basically so it makes us happy." Jayne, 28, from Wavertree, added: "If I wasn't in Elektrik Apple, I'd be sitting in my room doing nothing. Elektrik Apple show that disabled people have the ability to act. Why fit in when you were born to stand out."
Future Ambitions
The group aims to secure a permanent home and continue producing original projects. As founder Carol said: "We always say, 'Its not about teaching our guys, it's about teaching you.' The cast know what they can do. It's about teaching the audience."
