“The disability ‘Taskmaster’!” A hilarious gameshow where each game represents a different disability, giving kids and grown ups the chance to learn about Autism and Cerebral Palsy among others. Host Benny Shakes invites the audience to help join in the games, while resident panellist Mark Nicholas and a guest comedian battle it out to come up trumps, in a show where disadvantage is an advantage!
Developed with support from New Art Exchange Nottingham, Arts Council England and Attenborough Arts Centre and fresh from an Edinburgh Fringe run at the Pleasance 2022.
Shortlisted for the Neurodiverse Representation Award at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022.
★★★★ “Cleverly thought out and engagingly interactive.” – Three Weeks
★★★★★- “Lots of fun” – MixUpTheatre.com
★★★★★ – “Extremely inclusive” – A Youngish Perspective
Benny Shakes has cerebral palsy and has been performing comedy & hosting for three years. In that time he has made a name for himself on the circuit as an incredibly, funny and reliable up-coming talent. In 2021 Benny gained over £10,000 Arts Council England Funding for a research project into the barriers faced by disabled comedians where he interviewed
disabled performers such as Aaron Simmonds and Lost Voice Guy on his online show.
Having started out as an Online show previously titled 'Below the Belt', The Blue Badge Bunch has been developed with funding from Arts Council England and supported by the New Art Exchange Nottingham and their ERDF funding to create a version for live audiences. With development coming from director and technical designer Joe Dickens. It has toured to
a variety of venues and festivals including being performed at The Pleasance theatre as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022. Benny is originally from Ruislip and after attending Portland College to study Horticulture, now works on a community farm in Nottinghamshire. This issue of disability is very badly neglected in most discussions around diversity, and as a result voices of disabled people themselves are almost absent. Benny continues to research and present insight into disabled people’s experiences and recommendations for the future of the arts industry.
Press & Reviews
★★★★ “Cleverly thought out and engagingly interactive.” – Three Weeks
★★★★★- “Lots of fun” - MixUpTheatre.com
★★★★★ - “Extremely inclusive” - A Youngish Perspective
Cast & Creative Team Benny Shakes - Host
Mark Nicholas - Resident Panellist
Susanna Clark - Producer
Joe Dickens - Technical Design