A theatre company is searching Aberdeen and the north-east for an actor with Down’s syndrome to join their three-week tour this autumn.
Cutting Edge Theatre are casting a young woman to understudy the lead actor in the play Downs With Love.
The Scottish company has reached out to drama groups and classes in the region to invite those with Down’s syndrome to attend auditions in Edinburgh early in August.
They say they are not necessarily looking for a fully trained actor and suggest the role could open up further acting opportunities.
As well as understudying leading actor Abigail Brydon, the successful candidate will play the lead themselves in at least three shows.
The play was written by artistic director of Cutting Edge Theatre Suzanne Lofthus after she met Brydon in a drama class and developed the show with her help.
‘The industry needs to change’
The story is of a woman in her early 30s who falls in love with a local singer, but complications arise when he falls in love with her support worker.
Mrs Lofthus said: “Hopefully, we have reached a point where we won’t see any more able-bodied actors playing disabled people. There are disabled people who can play those roles.
“This is an amazing opportunity for a new actor to join our professional cast and train with them.
“We need to see more positive representations of disabled people on our stages and screens.
“To do that, we need to have more disabled actors, and therefore we need more training opportunities.
“The industry needs to change and we, along with a number of other organisations, are trying to change our industry in Scotland to make it more accessible to disabled people.”
After debuting at the Fringe in 2017 the show toured 10 Scottish venues in 2018.
This latest tour, backed by Creative Scotland funding, will visit 14 venues including Aberdeen.
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