The Invite: Visual Story
This visual story has been created to help you understand what to expect at Mind the Gap's show, The Invite.
Welcome to The Invite
The show is being performed at The Beacon in Lister Park, which is wheelchair accessible.
Please see the visual story for The Beacon to find out more about the space.
Volunteers in yellow t-shirts can help you find your way. There will also be a team from Mind the Gap to help you enjoy your experience.
The Performance
The Invite is a story about six friends. Five of them organise a party for the other’s birthday and we find out about all of them.
There’s a band that play live and are quite loud!
We start by shouting ‘surprise’ to practice when Harley comes in.
Harley is a wheelchair user. It’s her birthday, but she doesn’t like a fuss
She enjoys walking her dog, Wallace. (It’s an imaginary dog!)
Harley prefers being in the park with the ducks.
Brian runs the pub. But this is his last day as it’s being taken over.
Brian’s wife, Babs, died. He misses her and still talks to her. The lights go quite dark in these moments.
Noah is a trans man who loves books and wants to find love.
Noah enjoys book clubs.
If you’re on the front row, Noah might bring you a pretend hot chocolate.
You might also be asked to sit at a table with Noah and imagine you’re on a date with him.
Chillie is a social media influencer. She creates ‘Chillie bakes’ online.
You might be asked to look after a birthday cake if you’re sitting on the front row!
She also talks about fashion and demonstrates how to wrap a present. But she sometimes feels lonely.
Rosie gets stressed quite easily. She’s trying to wrap a present for Harley.
Rosie imagines giving Harley a perfectly wrapped present.
When Rosie’s taxi is late, she imagines taking over the driving. It gets quite dark, but not for long.
Rosie gets worked up about all the things she thinks she can’t do.
Ed gets ready for the day. He’s written a speech for the party later. He’s hoping that Stacey will come to the party too. Ed might ask you to look after his (imaginary) cat!
When he’s about to give his speech, Ed gets a message from Stacey to say she’s not coming. He forgets his speech.
We won’t hear the stories one at a time, they’re all woven together. We’ll hear bits of one, and then another.
Right at the end, Brian reminds us that we’re never alone.
Accessibility
There will be a quieter space available if you need to leave the performance area.
Ear defenders are also available.
A link to a map showing the nearest Changing Places toilet is here:
Changing Place toilet