ISABELLA SPEROTTO

 

Yellow Women is made from and for two misrepresented communities living in England: the neurodiverse minority and the Latin American community. 

 

In regards to neurodivergence, between 15-20% of people in England are neurodivergent. Neurodiversity exists in every culture, identified or not, and can bring to diagnosed individuals the feeling of belonging to a community. When we recognize neurodiversity in our society as a result of biodiversity, we can shift mainstream perceptions of marginalised Neuro Minorities, replacing negative, deficit-based stereotypes of neurodiversity with a more balanced valuation of their gifts and needs, promoting mental health and strengthening communities (Australia Bureau of Statistics 2018). According to an article published by the Harvard Health Publish in 2021, it’s essential to foster an environment that is promotive of neurodiversity, where strengths and talents can be recognized, but support for their needs can be also identified. The neurodivergent movement in England is spreading and fomenting a new way to look at our society and also at the arts-making process.

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Neurodiverse people tend to be more creative and feel more comfortable in creative environments than in other areas. Research shows that individuals with ADHD surpass others when thinking creatively. Studies have shown that autistic traits outperform when generating ideas and autistic people can spark greater verbal creativity. It’s not individuals that need to change; it’s the spaces and cultures that need to be more diverse. However, there’s still little work on stage created and performed by neurodiverse artists in England. 

 

According to the England Bureau of Statistics, there are approximately 186,500 Latinx self-identified people living in the UK, of which 113,500 reside in London. Despite this, we lack representation: There is often no box we can tick on equality monitoring forms. Many of these are Latinx artists who are currently working in England. By Liaising with some of these artists, and reflecting upon our own experience, many of us feel excluded from the theatre industry, marginalised and exoticised. There are few or no opportunities for Latinx artists, and those that exist are usually organised by the Latinx themselves. 

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