The Theatre Buddies accessibility & inclusion project

This is very much a work-in-progress project (which will be adapted and built upon based on research, discussions with creatives and audiences, feedback and what we learn. As we get this project underway for our return to the live stage, post-pandemic, we would be very grateful for any feedback as to what worked really well and how to improve. Please email any feedback to [email protected].  

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To use our theatre buddies service

As we tour to different venues and do not run the ticket sales ourselves, we do ask that you book your show tickets directly with the show venue.

The date where our theatre buddy volunteer is available, is 
April 9th (Saturday) for the matinee performance (arrive at 2pm for 2.30pm start) and evening performance (arrive at 7pm for 7.30pm start). 

Brixham Theatre is an accessible space with a lift from the ground floor theatre entrance, cafe/ bar, and toilets, to the auditorium. There are a couple of steps downstairs from the hallway to the toilets.  The theatre also has booster cushions available. 

When you have booked your ticket, please email us directly on [email protected], to tell us  the show that you are attending, your seat number, and your name, as well as any questions you may have. We will email you back to confirm that Vikki will meet you, and also to ask if you have any access needs - either physical or cognitive - which Vikki should be aware of. 
​You do not need to conform to any especial dress code. 

Our Theatre Buddies volunteer Vikki will meet you in the downstairs cafe/ bar area, she will be recognisable with a Theatre Buddy Tshirt and lanyard. Vikki will invite you to the cafe area to meet with her and any other visitors under our Theatre Buddies scheme, and will create a lovely welcoming chat.

Vikki may not be able to sit with you during the performance, due to the theatre allocating numbered seats,  but you will clearly know where she is, and she will meet with you again at the interval and after the show, for chats about the performance, refreshments, and creating a friendly social experience. 

Vikki will also have information on taxi numbers, bus times, and where everything is at the theatre, as well as being able to answer any questions you have - the primary point of this is to create a friendly social experience, and help you to make friends, and not feel alone. 

The theatre buddy is someone to provide accompaniment, and friendly social interaction at the theatre. They are expected to be sensitive to people of all kinds of backgrounds and needs. They will meet you at the theatre when you arrive, and will see you safely to the theatre door when you leave at the end of the event. 
The theatre buddy however is not a taxi or in place of a carer. 
People using this service must be aged over 18. 

When you register as attending, we will ask you if there is any information that the Theatre Buddy may need to know; this might relate to cultural things, access needs from a disability or other condition, etc. We are also happy to answer any questions that you may have in advance. 

Please note that if you visit us regularly, we will ask the same questions each time. This is because with our data protection policy, we do not retain personal information after the event it is given for, so it needs to be refreshed each time. 

It is important to remember that the Buddy also may have access needs. 

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Vikki Francis, our Theatre Buddy volunteer in Brixham

About the Theatre Buddies: 

​The whole idea behind Theatre Buddies, is a way to increase access to the arts that we produce. At the moment it is based in our home area of Torbay, but we hope to expand it to all of our regular performance areas during 2022. 

Common feedback that we hear from people, both regarding our own theatre productions and those by other organizations, is that people cannot attend because they have nobody to attend the theatre show with, and feel anxious about attending on their own. This can often be people of a senior age, but is in no way limited to that demographic, as people of all ages may be affected by social anxiety, loneliness, or the lack of a social aspect to going to the theatre.

While loneliness and isolation is an ongoing social issue, Covid made it vastly worse, and in some ways we have all become so used to remaining at home, that it will take a while to go out and about again. A number of people have anecdotally mentioned social anxiety becoming a problem when returning to a free-er lifestyle as the pandemic wanes. 

After much thinking, we came up with the idea of the Theatre Buddy system which is now in the process of being created, to be trialed over 2022 (and hopefully expanded). 
In this system, someone wanting to attend a theatre show, but with nobody to attend with them, can link up with our theatre Buddies.
The Buddies are volunteers with our organisation whose task it is, to meet the person attending, watch the show with them, and provide a pleasant, safe social experience - allowing that person to come and enjoy the show, socialise and sit with someone, and feel "included". If there are several people attending with the Buddy, this can become a joyful social experience in which the Buddy facilitates a group of people enjoying the theatre. 

For each area of performance, the Theatre Buddy is local to the area, so you have plenty of local knowledge and information. 

Because some of our target demographics are less regular users of smartphones and computers, we also plan to create newsletters and a postal method of contact to allow for anyone to book in with our Theatre Buddies, regardless of modern technology. 

For Theatre Buddies

At the moment, as there is no funding, the Theatre Buddies are all volunteers.  

We will be building a full small training package, but the key points will be that Buddies must be approachable, open-minded, calm, and friendly since the role is likely to involve contact with people of all ages, any kind of social background, and any kind of either  visible or non-visible disabilities or conditions. 

The rule of thumb is to remain polite and friendly, if you do not know what access needs the person/ people whom you are buddied with,  have, or how to assist them, the important rule of thumb is to let them tell you. If something is not possible, then it is important to explain why.

We also look for feedback from Buddies and visitors, as to how we can improve the project for everyone, increase access, and usage of the service. 

It is however, extremely important to observe confidentiality for the people using the service, which is subject to our full data protection policy. Information identifying the users of the service is not retained between visits. 

This is a document on accessible marketing, which will be very useful 
https://www.shapearts.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=d9c870ae-6ea8-4ed8-b88e-b08684b791ba

Volunteer calls

At the moment we are developing the project with our Buddy volunteers in Torbay, Devon, however we will be expanding to the other regular regions for our shows, during 2022. 

For people wishing to use the Buddies service

We are working on creating several options for your letting us know that you would like to come and see a show with us, and to book "a buddy".  If you have any specific thoughts on this, please do email us on [email protected], as we will be learning through trial and error. 


Please note that if you visit us regularly, we will ask the same questions each time. This is because with our data protection policy, we do not retain personal information after the event it is given for, so it needs to be refreshed each time. 

It is important to remember that the Buddy also may have access needs. 

Complaints or feedback

Please email us on [email protected] to ask any questions, or to send us any complaints or feedback.