Grania Pickard

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Performer and director Grania Pickard talks to Victoria Chapman about the influence of her autistic younger brother Sean ahead of He Ain't Heavy's arrival in Kingston next week

Grania premiered and began touring her production He Ain’t Heavy at the start of last year. Now, bringing her show to Kingston as part of the Let Me In Festival, specifically aimed at young people with physical, learning and sensory needs, she opens up about the influence and inspiration of her younger brother Sean, on both her show and her life, as well as the experience of having a disabled sibling.

Grania's brother was born when she was only two years old, and in an odd quirk of fate, his disability actually ended up being a key catalyst for her own love of performance and theatre.

“I can thank Sean for this – he's got such severe disabilities, so a lot of activities for young people with disabilities are funded," she explains down the phone during a warm summer's eve. "If he’d been able bodied, my family wouldn't have been able to afford for us both to do lots of things, but because he wasn’t normal and got activities provided, it meant that I got spoilt!

“I went to Hull Truck Youth Theatre as a way of getting out of the house, meeting people and just having fun, being away from normality for a bit, so I can actually thank Sean otherwise I don’t think it would have been possible."

After watching No Fit State Circus at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Grania was ”blown away” by their work, and began commuting an hour to trapeze classes every Monday for a year at Greentop Circus School in Sheffield. However, she soon came to the conclusion that if she didn't pursue a career in circus training, she would be too old.

“I left my proper job and went to Circomedia in Bristol and the circus career started from there. Now I’ve realised you can do circus no matter what age or ability you are. I think it's a really open art form and is accessible for anyone; even aerial, you just need to have the right support and equipment."

It was this realisation that encouraged her to combine her aerial expertise with helping children and adults with disabilities and their siblings, so they can learn how to use the equipment. Four years in the making, these workshops were the foundation for He Ain't Heavy.

Grania aims to provide a relaxed theatre experience where anyone can come and watch, either relating to or gaining an insight into the struggles of growing up with disabilities.  

"The aim is to create a theatre experience for people of all abilities or disabilities, giving a platform for siblings or carers to show the other side of that experience. When you grow up with someone who needs managing, their essential and physical needs supersede anything that's happening in that moment.

"I'm not complaining about Sean, we're trying to give an honest approach into the ways that he's brilliant and the ways that he's annoying. I want people from similar situations to feel like we're being authentic to their experience."

Due to his love of routine, Sean unfortunately cannot attend or be in the performance, so as the artistic director, Grania decided to use puppetry to represent Sean, as well as aerial and physical theatre to represent the relationship between them.

"The physical theatre is a metaphor for the physical and emotional struggle of having a sibling like mine, battling with yourself and feeling frustrated without showing it – I get so used to hiding it because it makes Sean's behaviour worse, so it's quite hard to talk about.

"We wanted to bring Sean into the room, playing on the idea of him being there and not being there. The production begins with this idea of absence – he's not at my wedding, he didn't come to the theatre or my graduation, but he's also always there because he shapes who I am."

Grania is quick to emphasise her luck in being given the opportunity to collaborate with many generous charities and companies during the writing and staging of He Ain't Heavy. She explains how she didn't know that there were sibling support networks until she began researching for her production, and wants to spread awareness about the help and support that is out there. 

"I'm trying to shine a light on a group whose experiences may be talked about less; it's not a story that gets covered all that often, so I want people to be able to learn or hear more about disabilities.

"There's very little out there in terms of sibling support, there's more now than when I was a kid but it's still under the radar. Even if you make the provision for sibling support, each family dynamic is very different and so they all have different experiences."

I asked Grania how much it meant to her, not only having the the support of many networks and groups, but also knowing she represents a cause, helping those who are disabled and their loved ones with her workshops world-wide. 

"No pressure," she laughs. "Incredible, absolutely incredible. I really appreciate the gamble people have taken on such a new company without much background. It's so rewarding to know that this is a valuable project. I feel very lucky."

Grania is excited for the future and what it has in store for her production and the cause she is fighting for. So what can we look forward to from her next?

"I want to focus on continuing to bring fun to an audience while shedding light upon the individual and collective struggle of sibling experiences; it's an exciting journey. This production has led to the collaboration with Circamedia, which has evolved into working with SEN programmes – it's all part of an evolving process, something big is happening – the work is coming into a movement and no longer just a show in isolation."

Grania's excited to see other people's work in the festival, but she emphasises how her production is individual and unique.

"What makes our performance different is that we're creating an inclusive, relaxed, show for the entire family that describes a family's or sibling's experience through the use of autobiography. We're talking about real life that's happening right now, not a fictional story."

On June 27th Grania performs alongside Sophie Postlethwaite in He Ain't Heavy as part of the Let Me In Festival at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. For more info and to book tickets, visit: rosetheatrekingston.org