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Disability and the entertainment industry

Disabled people, their carers, and friends and family represent a significant market and want to be able to access and appreciate venues such as art galleries, cinemas, heritage sites, museums, and theatres.

  • Only 38% of museums and galleries in the UK had an access policy or plan that mentions disabled people. [i]
  • 4 out of 5 disabled people had serious problems with cinema access. In three locations disabled people couldn't get in at all. [ii]
  • Only 37% of museums provided audio description services or tours. [iii]

Entertainment venues which undertake reasonable adjustments will increase their access to the potential £80 billion expenditure by disabled visitors and their companions in the UK alone. [iv] There is significant potential growth for the entertainment industry through making services more accessible to disabled people.

  • Many venues did not consult with visually impaired people, either in regard to planning or evaluation of collections, services and facilities. [v]
  • Only 45% of front-of-house staff and 30% of managers in the museums, galleries and heritage sites surveyed had received any visual awareness training. [vi]
  • 42 per cent of the venues surveyed admitted that at best, a blind or partially sighted visitor could access none, or a little of their venue, collections and events through using information in accessible formats. [vii]
  • Venues that had good audio services were not necessarily accessible to disabled people in other areas. [viii]
  • Less than one-quarter of people with disabilities (22%) go to the movies 4 or more times per year. [ix]
  • Only 36 per cent of organisations surveyed said access for disabled people is built into annual budgets. [x]
  • 29 per cent of organisations stated that their sites are accessible to blind or partially sighted people. [xi]
  • Only 26 per cent of museums have websites complying with standard guidelines for universal access. [xii]

With film now available in several formats businesses can profit from acknowledging the population figures for both disabled cinemagoers and home viewers and make adjustments for disabled customers to access these products and services. The DVD market segment for disabled customers is noticeably higher and is indicative of the popularity of film across the board. The figure also illustrates the potential disabled customer market that would become available if the numbers of accessible cinemas was increased across the country.

  • Over 10.3 million disabled adults live in their own home. [xiii]
  • Disabled people are significantly under-represented overall among film goers. [xiv]
  • Retail video/DVD is the only market segment in which disabled purchasers matched their overall population percentage, 15.3% [xv]
  • 10.9% of cinema, rental, retail and PPV film buyers are disabled. [xvi]

The Lyceum Theatre, London

“The Lyceum Theatre is fully accessible to disabled and deaf patrons and we are committed to making your experience as easy and enjoyable as possible.”

The Lyceum provides the following facilities and services for disabled theatre-goers:

  • A low-level disability assistance button situated outside the Box Office entrance notifies staff of customers requiring assistance.
  • 8 wheelchair spaces are available in the stalls seating area. Accessible lifts enable transferral to alternative seating in different circle areas of the theatre.
  • The wheelchair accessible entrance provides level access to the Accessible Toilets and the Stalls area.
  • Sign Interpreted, Audio Described and STAGETEXT captioned performances are regularly scheduled by the theatre.
  • Throughout performances, a qualified theatre sign interpreter stands on the left of the stage and uses sign language to relay music and words to deaf and hearing impaired patrons.
  • The theatre has two styles of infra-red loop system for people with hearing impairments. Either style enables those who do or do not use hearing aids to follow performances.
  • Captioned performances are also scheduled in association with STAGETEXT. Captioning converts the spoken word into text, which is displayed on a caption unit viewed by the audience. Sound effects and off-stage noises are also included.
  • Guide Dogs are welcome in the auditorium or can alternatively be left in the care of theatre staff.

The Lyceum Theatre

 

Sources

  1. [i] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  2. [ii] ‘Four out of five British high streets serve up second class service for disabled people’ DRC news archive 2004.
  3. [iii] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  4. [iv] DWP, December 2004
  5. [v] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  6. [vi] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  7. [vii] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  8. [viii] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  9. [ix] Life Outside the Home- Socializing & Going Out. Survey on behalf of the US National Disabiltiy Organisation, 2000.
  10. [x] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  11. [xi] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  12. [xii] Talking Images: museums, galleries & heritage sites.
  13. [xiii] Broadcasting & Creative Industries Disability Network update August 2006
  14. [xiv] Broadcasting & Creative Industries Disability Network update August 2006
  15. [xv] Broadcasting & Creative Industries Disability Network update August 2006
  16. [xvi] Broadcasting & Creative Industries Disability Network update August 2006