Lung Ha celebrates 40th Anniversary

How does an award-winning theatre group celebrate a 40^th anniversary?

Lung Ha Theatre Company started life in 1984, going on to produce over 40 original shows, work with 300+ performers, tour Europe, and continue to champion disabled theatre performers into 2024 and hopefully beyond. The company’s founder, Richard Vallis, wanted to create opportunities for disabled creatives who were struggling to find similar opportunities elsewhere. Vallis found himself proving a point to the sceptics, that these performers were not only perfectly capable of putting on a show, but could thrive at it.

A key part of this year’s celebrations is the launch of Lung Ha’s touring company, marked by their Fringe show An Unexpected Hiccup, produced in collaboration with Plutot la Vie.

First shown in 2021, An Unexpected Hiccup is a surreal farce that was developed in collaboration with its cast. Actor and long-time Lung Ha member Emma McCaffrey talks about the challenges of staging a play in spite of lockdown restrictions, complete with Zoom workshops and ultra-sanitised sets, as well as the cast being asked to develop their characters during an already surreal societal moment. “The characters are going through a tough time as well but they’re quite eccentric," she says, "and going through Covid is a perfect time to understand your own madness, I guess.”

Those restrictions led to unique creative twists, from distanced performers to a new servant character whose role was to clean any contacted surfaces. Bringing the show back in 2024 has allowed the group to free itself from those restrictions while taking inspiration from the unique ideas that emerged back in 2021. Ultimately, co-director Maria Oller promises, they want the audience “to have a good belly laugh”.

Photo by Pete Dibdin

Having championed disabled-led arts throughout its 40-year history, the company continues to grow, providing workshops and allowing performers to fulfil their potential. Realising this potential has been a big part of Oller’s 15 years with Lung Ha, from expanding the types of challenging plays that the group produce to “always work[ing] with the best people”.

“The Lung Ha ensemble is the essence of Lung Ha," she explains. "Even if we now have a touring company, it’s still connected to the big ensemble, and I think that is our strength”. Both Oller and McCaffrey are also hugely grateful for the behind-the-scenes support that has driven much of the group’s work. Without the supporting network of family and support teams, alongside the actors’ commitment, Oller says Lung Ha’s work “wouldn’t be possible at all”.

When asked what Lung Ha has to teach Scotland’s cultural sector, McCaffrey is keen to emphasise that disabled performers and creatives are just as capable as anyone. With TV recently making improvements in disabled representation, “there’s still a bit of unsureness of disabled people being on stage”. This is partly down to a lack of proper representation thus far, and she says that disabled-led groups like Lung Ha “gives us a face” and help show “that we can also act [and] we’re absolutely good at it. If you give us a chance, we can go on stage and we can kill it”.

Oller also speaks about the practical contributions Lung Ha offers Scottish theatre, supporting mainstream companies in working with people with learning disabilities, as well as opening up disabled performances to all ages, including school audiences. The challenge for Lung Ha, Oller says, is to keep looking for new challenges, “being curious and open and ready”.

For McCaffrey, the passion and enjoyment of Lung Ha’s performers is key. The actors “love what they do, and that’s the huge appeal.” And this enjoyment is only the start. “Let’s get them on stage, let’s do more with them, see what more we can do. Why not?”

Exactly.