Aladdin's magical, autism-friendly performance

All of us at Amaze want to express huge thanks to those who attended the August 12 autism-friendly performance of Disney’s Aladdin – The Musical.
Also thanks to Disney for partnering with us to make the event possible and to the fantastic volunteer team, pictured with Michael James Scott (Genie), Ainsley Melham (Aladdin) and Hiba Elchikhe (Jasmine).
The event was months in the planning and was a massive success.

Amaze is proud to have played a part in the production because we acknowledge that going to a theatrical event can be difficult for autistic people.
Trained staff on hand
Simple production changes ensured an atmosphere in Her Majesty’s Theatre that could be enjoyed by autistic children and their families.
Trained staff were on hand and dedicated quiet and activity areas were available for anyone needing to leave their seats.
Adjustments to the production included removal of strobe lighting and pyrotechnics, reduction of any jarring sounds, lights focused into the audience and house lights being dimmed.
Etiquette thrown out window
Aladdin’s company manager said: “This is a show where theatre etiquette is thrown out the window.
“The show is all about the kids feeling free to move and make noise. We minimise the dynamics of the show but it still has all the splendour and spectacle for families to enjoy.”
Following are some of the comments about the performance posted to our Facebook page.
“Thanks to everyone involved. I’m sure you understand what this means to us parents to be able to share the experience of theatre with our children whom would otherwise miss out”.
“Aladdin, wow it was amazing. Thank you to amaze and the staff at majesty’s theatre from the bottom of my heart for doing what you have done with the Autism friendly performance today.

“The staff went above and beyond to make it an amazing day for everyone. We loved every minute of the show.
Performance was amazing
“The performance was amazing. My daughter loved it (4.5 years) having the lights dimmed, being able to take your own food. Even down to the fine details of having the hand driers turned off in the toilets was perfect.
“Having extra staff on the day, staff helping hold your bag while another one took a photo in front of the purple Aladdin sign.
“To top of the most amazing day… we walk out the doors to be greeted by staff and the amazing volunteers handing out Aladdin flags to all the children young and old.. I had tears in my eyes. Let’s hope more shows take on this idea and we can get to another show”.
“It was a wonderful event, thanks so much to the awesome Amaze team, volunteers & Disney for organising such an inclusive, exciting & adapted show for the kids! & to the cast for spending time meeting the kids after the show. We had a wonderful time & would definitely go again! X”

“This was such an amazing show & such great talents. Huge thank you goes to Amaze team & to the wonderful Amaze volunteers that were there to help. My family definitely enjoyed it & had a great time & laugh. Definitely will go again for Disney and autism friendly performance events”.
Such an amazing experience
“Thank you Amaze for working so hard to make this happen, to the volunteers, staff at Her Majesty’s theatre, to Disney and every person on stage and in the audience. It was an unforgettable community experience”!
“Thank you so much Amaze and Aladdin! We had such an amazing experience at the show on Saturday. I had never felt brave enough to even attempt to do something like attend a musical with my 8 yr old ASD son but on Saturday we had the chance! And we all absolutely loved the show. Thank you for making it possible xxx”.