learning disability

Blue Apple wins Digital Innovation Award at the Winchester Business Excellence Awards 2022

Blue Apple wins Digital Innovation Award at Winchester Business Excellence Awards 2022

Free taster for new online performing arts classes for young people 14-18 with learning disabilities Saturday 8 January 11-12pm

Blue Apple presents a new Young Company offering Performing Arts skills to young people with learning disabilities aged 14-18. The online sessions will offer a mix of singing, dance and drama and will be facilitated by a trained professional.

Blue Apple’s brand new Young Company is for young adults anywhere aged 14-18 years with a learning disability who have a passion and interest in the arts. This company will explore all aspects of performing arts including drama, movement, and song, in a fun and nurturing environment, with development opportunities to perform and progress into Blue Apple’s adult companies and sessions.

Young Company Performing Arts for 14-18 year olds will be on Saturdays 11am-12pm via Zoom starting on 15 January 2022.

There will be a free taster session on Saturday 8 January for Young Company Performing Arts. 

Cost £7 per session. Spring term 2021 is 13 weeks costing £91 in total or two payments of £45.50.

Term starts week beginning 10 January 2022 |

Term ends week beginning 4 April 2022 (No half term).

Book your place for the free taster, or half a term/full term.
Email admin@blueappletheatre.com  or phone 07510 844480

A screen shot from a Zoom session showing young people waving their arms and smiling

One of the early sessions

New to Blue Apple? Hear what our performers say:

New online dance and exercise classes

Blue Apple and Winchester Go LD have teamed up with Louisa Church from Collective Motion Dance to offer new online dance and exercise sessions on Mondays 1-2pm up to 20 December. A pilot session was very successful and performers found it great fun. The sessions are accessible and Makaton friendly.

Find out more and book places here.

The image shows five hexagons, one central golden one with stick figures dancing and four blue shapes with words Makaton friendly, Fun and lively, Relax and Express yourself.  Below this are the logos from the organisers and photo of the dance leader

Double Premiere for Blue Apple Theatre and Theatre Royal Winchester

On Thursday 21 October 2021 a small group of Blue Apple performers stood on stage at Theatre Royal Winchester to talk about a very important film called See No Evil.  Those performers all starred in a film designed to help people spot hate crime and protect vulnerable people from being exploited through a process known as ‘cuckooing’. This is when dealers convince a vulnerable person to let their home be used for drug dealing. They are often urban gangs who are involved in county lines drug trafficking.  The film was premiered in the beautiful heritage theatre auditorium at Theatre Royal Winchester via their new surround sound cinema screen which has been recently installed thanks to generous support from the Garfield Weston Foundation.  This was the first film to be screened on the new equipment that will in future enable Theatre Royal Winchester to not only host live performance but also to screen films and live-streamed performances from theatres from around the country and beyond.

On stage to explain the key themes of the film were Anna Brisbane, James Elsworthy and Tommy Jessop alongside outgoing Chair of Trustees Georgiana Robertson. Co-performer James Benfield was unable to attend the premiere.

Photos by Mike Hall.

The part-animated video, created in collaboration with Cass Productions, features four of Blue Apple’s actors who all have learning disabilities, as well as real-life police officers. See No Evil was developed with the Hampshire Police Crime Commissioner and Hampshire County Council.  Speaking before the film was shown to invited guests from local organisations, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Councillor Luke Stubbs talked about the critical importance of crime prevention in the role of policing.

The film is designed for viewing alongside an educational workshop that includes drama and discussion activities, co-facilitated by members of Blue Apple Theatre. Free educational resources and the film can be accessed via Blue Apple's website at blueappletheatre.com/seenoevil