That was quite incredible! No, get rid of the word quite and say it proudly… that was ****ing awesome! I generally loved every minute of BOXED! 2026 at the Barnfield theatre. It was an epic climax to our creative journey, which began on the most bumpiest roads but increasingly became smother, with joy, lots of giggles and inspiring as time went on. We were absolutely blown away by the formal feedback and post-sharing conversations. I say post, yet as we’ve been reflecting as a group, one of the magical elements of this immersive experience is that it sparks talk all the way through. From a eery and slightly frustrating waiting room, and naturally an extricating wait, audiences are divided into groups to experience/ endure/ cope together a bizarre assessment. Whether it was being told to stand in a box, but under no circumstance, do you stand in the box; being ordered to find a plastic burger in a mouldy looking fridge, with the reality gradually dawning there wasn’t a burger in there to start with; exiting one waiting to arrive at a another waiting room; the most frustrating online form that just stops working for no apparent reason, and more slightly silly but intense scenarios. All this weirdly brings you together. We are all on this journey of red tape and a broken systems of benefit entanglement healthcare. maybe we just need time to talk about it? I’m immensely proud of the whole team, described best in this epic theatre review by James Banyard. who 100 percent got it. I therefore don’t need to write a scene by scene breakdown of BOXED! What I was thinking of sharing with you is photos. Throughout my practise, one incredible constancy is Emily’s (Southwest Theatre Productions) incredible talent of catching the essence and raw emotions of an event. I’ve previously share these photos in dribs and drabs, some on the website here, other in social media, Some on the blog or info pack etc. They never seem to get a full celebration platform, so while this paragraph is a extremely long, the rest of blog will be photos!!!

Performer with a long beard and glasses in a white lab coat looks confusingly at another white lab coat performer. Behind them is a red tape with sheets covering the wall.

in a theatre foyer, a group of people listening in a circle to a performer wearing black with messy brown hair

four performers in white lab coats and one in a casual jumper look pre ocoupied whilst the wheelchair users in black with messy brown hair has a wry smile — Behind the scenes photo of what appeared to be some kind of race to shut the door to the foyer, before the audience see us woefully unprepared………… Although, I seem to find something funny!

Sarah, audience support in a black spotted dress hands out lanyards with either green or red cards in them

Busy waiting room out with someone in white lab coat rushing through. behind, second white coat performer leans over a wheelchair user with a clip board

Nine photos of the Waiting Room set up, with posted all over two walls and sheets over the other two. Audience sit in two rows looking at each other, sometimes laughing, sometimes grimacing. The performance are in white lab coats, looking busy and flustered.

short corridor with white walls and a fire escape at the end. Left, a door left ajar showing a bright room with chairs and a screen. Walking towards the camera, the performer with a lab coat and long brown beard looks confused at paper in their hands — And now we are finally at the other side of the Waiting room, and things have just only started to get weird! This corridor, not huge but the way it rounded on itself and just stopped was perfect for the confusing and loss vibe we were going for.

These eight photos show the infamous Box Room - a small grey room with sheets on the wall and high up windows. Various groups of people stand in a square box taped on the floor. Some are black and white photos and others show a smaller box taped on the wall. At one point, an audience member found a step ladder and was awkward trying to squeeze into the box. Good use of words there, squeezed into the box!

Two images here of the second Waiting Room, where I inhabited and didn’t help the situations at all - I groaned with impatience and generally got in the way. Black and white image of me looking angry with my scruffy hair and beard. Support worker Kerry looks at me concerned. A white lab case worker is on the right.

Second photo shows one of our amazing commission artist Oma Keeling’s (check out their surreal and engaging computer game artwork here), installation. It is a broken children’s game set-up. With a sad looking stand… and yes, there is a creepy looking doll in the box to the left….. no the work isn’t a horror haunted house… but, yes, I was the one who sourced the doll, and it’s now safe in my attic… I think.

Anyway, Oma’s work is powerful and multi-layered. A earie memory of a child waiting for hours in hospital, while the grown-ups decide their fate. Yet, the sheer boredom, pain and unbearable worry is held off for a while by a computer game set up. The magic lure of the levels and scores helps to pass the time. A conflict in a child’s brain of not wanting to go to the white building which symbolising pain wee-in-week-out, and then not wanting to leave before the final boss is destroyed.

Grey wall room with a box on the floor and smaller one on the wall. Three people looking confused at the wall and the fourth standing in the box on the floor

Two audience member peer around the corner from their chairs. Cross between mild intrigue and slight apprehension. The walls are yellow with posters everywhere.

Two characters in white coats, barge through the door. One looks feverish around the room the other stare back with worry.

A handcrafted colage of bright colours, leaves and flowers cover a round embroidery frame. The othe corner is made up of grey paper which was a NHS medical form. Left, strip light cast photo in green. — This beautiful creation was from the multi-talented Lucy Bell, the second artist we commissioned (checkout her practice here). She appropriated the endless medical and social care letters her family receive. Using embroidery and collage, the work showcases scars left by the system which are weaved together with creativity, colour and uniqueness. The exhaustion never really leaves you but we are stronger because of it. Lucy, through this artwork, rewrites narratives of it means to be ‘healed’.

Two audience members look confusingly at a screen depicting a messy kitchen with someone opening the fridge

Four more picture of the chaotic waiting room - confused audience members, frustrated audience members and posters galore.

Lastly, four images of the final space. A huge projection of aquatic worlds, jellyfish or a gentle breeze through grasses. With my scruffy hair, I am either alone with a microphone stand next to me, or have Emma beside me interpretating to BSL.

Text on projection: but this space is not at. In this space, with each of you, our voices matter.

Go on the, one more photo… enjoy! Such a wonderful, supportive dedicated and highly skilled group of humans! The whole team is all but in this photo…..and disclaimer, this image might have been taken on someone’s phone, not through Emily’s master lens, but that sort of encapsulates the behind the scenes vibe of this joyful moment!

Ten people grin in a group photo with a large projection of fluffy clouds behind them.

Photo Evidence - a Appreciation Letter

Tickets on Sale!!!!!!