Summary
The Brittle Bone Society project is an international, multidisciplinary, art-based research project that bridges musical theatre, puppetry and paediatric healthcare. The project embeds collaborative partnerships, an art-based methodology, musical theatre and puppetry practice to advocate for the agency of children living with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) in hospitals.
Who is involved
To date, 39 students spanning two cohorts of MA/MFA Musical Theatre students studying at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) adapted and devised puppetry scripts that tell the hospital experiences of children with OI and their families.
The research is in collaboration with McGill University, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Brittle Bone Society. Engagement also includes the History Bones Collection Archive at the University of Dundee, freelance directors and scholars at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama and Teesside University.
The project is managed by Dr Louisa Petts and Bethany McShepherd.
Impact
The project responds to the dearth of representation of disabled children in theatre storytelling, collaboratively drawing on expertise from healthcare professionals, theatre practitioners and people living with OI.
The project shifts healthcare practices to greater recognise that children with OI desire to be involved in their hospital experiences, including the receipt of educational information and to be part of the shared-decision making processes, which may contribute to the reduction of preoperative anxiety and facilitate their post-operative recovery.
The research vitally platforms the healthcare experiences of children with OI and their communities, exhibiting how theatre arts can act as an effective arts and health tool.
Active outputs
2 peer-reviewed published outputs in Arts & Health and Theatre Q1 journals
- Filmed theatrical resources for children, families and medical practitioners
- Annual development weeks for LAMDA MA/MFA Musical Theatre students
- Building permanent puppets based on the From Shadows to Sunshine: A Hospital Tale characters
- Touring production of From Shadows to Sunshine: A Hospital Tale
- Submittable as a case study for LAMDA’s first return to the REF 2029