Founded by Kelly Hunter MBE — who devised and created ‘The Hunter Heartbeat Method’ — Flute Theatre offers sensory drama games to help individuals on the autistic spectrum. It is in no way a medical practice but a form of engagement that has been successful with individuals with ASD in various countries. The journey of Flute Theatre started in London and has found its way to Spain, Japan, Poland, Peru and now India.

The work revolves around using the fantastical plays of Shakespeare, like Pericles, Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest to create games that help individuals on the spectrum attempt to overcome challenges, such as eye contact, speech impediments, walking backwards and placing one’s entire foot on the ground, among many other things.

On its inception, the games were plotted in such a manner that the actors and musicians would be sat around in a circle. The individuals with ASD would enter the room and invariably find their way to sit among the artists in the designated gaps. The artistes would tap their hands on their heart and create a beat, similar to the heartbeat, which is also the rhyme scheme for the plays selected, that is, the iambic pentameter. These beats would be accompanied by the utterance of ‘Hello’ followed by the name of individuals on the spectrum present among the artistes. This welcoming act indicates a comfortable space due to its similarity to a womb and the sound of the heartbeat, accompanied by the names, which has shown the prefrontal cortex of the brain to light up under the most mundane circumstances. This is only the description of the first exercise.

A typical session lasts between 60-90 minutes of constant and continuous engagement with those on the spectrum with several such exercises.

“My journey started in theatre at a very young age of 17. I have worked on The West End, The RSC and The National Theatre. It was much later when I wanted to redefine why I loved the theatre and found myself teaching at a school. Funnily enough, the principal at the school said I could play with everyone in the room except for the students behind a particular door. I, being curious, attempted to walk through those doors and find myself surrounded with the love of so many children on the Autistic Spectrum. Having been in the theatre for most of my life, it wasn’t difficult for me to play certain games. It was in that space, with a lot of time investment of course, that I was able to see which games truly work for those on the spectrum while playing with them. These games are in no way devised for them outside of their own input, nor are they limited to where they are today. Even now, after more than two decades, the work continues to adapt, grow and make a difference in all those lives that we have the privilege of impacting,” says Kelly Hunter.

The theatre company works exclusively, around the clock, serving those who are struggling with autism in and outside the UK. In 2018, Kelly was decorated with the MBE (Member of the British Empire) for her revolutionary work with her charity, Flute Theatre. Furthermore, Flute Theatre went on to win the best charity by the Stage Awards the very next year.

In 2020, Kelly was invited to Bangalore where I was teaching, at Christ University. As Kelly’s former student, this was a great honour for me. I was managing international collaborations and could not believe it when Kelly agreed to make this journey to speak about the work and teach the same to the department of Theatre Studies.

Kelly taught us the Shakespeare module during my time at Drama Centre London, Central Saint Martins. She was able to break down the text and introduce movement in such an organic way that those of us who feared Shakespeare began to find a lot of fun in it. She offered us the opportunity to work with Flute in the short vacation spell that followed the semester. Most of us jumped at the opportunity. It was in the rooms with the kids that we were finally privy to what it truly means to be a character and not perform a character. Some of us went on to do shows at the Bridge Theatre and Bush Theatre soon after. Personally, I’ve been dreaming about bringing Kelly to India ever since. The most important reason being how well the work lends itself to different languages. It’s not about what you say but completely how one is saying it.

When I was researching experimental work for autism as the prelude to bringing Kelly to Bangalore, I couldn’t help but notice that there was not enough being done in comparison to the shocking statistic of every one in 60 children being born and diagnosed with ASD, in India. It was my absolute honour and privilege to introduce Kelly when she arrived at ASHA foundation, Spastic Society of India, NIMHANS, Rangashankara, Jagriti Theatre while she conducted several training sessions at Christ University, the associated special needs school along with specialised training to the students of the department of Performing Arts, Theatre Studies and Music. Kelly and I shared a dream to work on the project with our new friends in Bangalore but the circumstances of the lockdown followed her departure.

Even though the offline chapter of Flute came to a pause, the charity, its actors and Kelly have been working tirelessly on the online medium. The shows have adapted ever so slightly from being a communal show with lots of individuals on the spectrum to becoming an online show directed towards one or two individuals on the spectrum. This change has not been a bad one at all as the actors have had the opportunity to direct all their attention to one or two kids on the screen. The squeals of laughter and the learning process are nothing shy of exceptional.

The company has successfully finished 976 shows and counting since April 2020. Most of these sessions have been absolutely free as an offer during the trying times of the pandemic. Kelly continues her work with just having completed the summer festival with collaborations with schools in the UK, La Plaza Theatre Peru and Samatha Foundation Bangalore.

The big plunge forward would be to set up Flute Theatre India as soon as lockdown restrictions are completely removed; it has been due since September 2020, and both Kelly and I are extremely eager to get things on the road. Flute Theatre can be reached at www.flutetheatre.co.uk

The author is an actor and professor at Christ University Bangalore