What started as an invitation to educate the Folk team about how to get more people with disabilities on screen, has turned into an official relationship between Folk and Hijinx.
Today, we’re proud to announce we’ve partnered with world-leading inclusive theatre company Hijinx, to bring more diversity to the marketing and comms industry.
By creating opportunities for actors with learning disabilities and/or autism through theatre and film productions, Hijinx and Folk hope to confound expectations and challenge people’s perceptions about learning disabilities.
Our financial sponsorship will go towards supporting the operational running of Hijinx, which provides professional performance training for actors with learning disabilities and/or autism and supports them to access jobs in theatre and film.
Folk CEO, Sharon Flaherty, said: “Our mission is getting people from all backgrounds heard, represented, valued, and empowered. This partnership with Hijinx Theatre will help us to keep improving the visibility of underrepresented groups on screen which will keep up the momentum on normalising difference and hitting home the message of the importance of representation for all in the marketing, PR and the advertising industries.
Hijinx runs five varied training Academies to provide professional performance training for 70 uniquely talented actors with autism and other learning disabilities, providing them with the skills needed to become professional performers.
Sarah Horner, CEO of Hijinx, added: “By working together, Hijinx and Folk have a unique opportunity to inform each other’s work, building understanding and seeding real change in the advertising and marketing industry, ensuring that representation for learning disabled and/or autistic people is authentic, and that voices are amplified and heard.”
Acclaimed Hijinx productions include Meet Fred, Into the Light and Metamorphosis, which have toured globally to over 35 countries in recent years. Its actors have gone on to appear in BBC’s Casualty, and Severn Screen for S4C and BBC Cymru’s final series of Craith/Hidden.