Michèle Taylor (Director for Change, Ramps on the Moon) is appointed MBE for services to Theatre and People with Disabilities as part of the New Year’s Honours list and has released the following statement:
“I am delighted to accept this award for services to Theatre and People with Disabilities.
Like any award, this honour is about the work of a whole team: it is a privilege to be Director for Change at Ramps on the Moon, working with consortium partners to make meaningful change so that disabled people can take our place in the mainstream theatre industry. Sarah Holmes, Chief Executive at The New Wolsey Theatre, has been a particularly important ally to disabled people working in theatre; without her, Ramps on the Moon would never even have happened and it has been a real pleasure to work alongside her in this endeavour.
I have been delivering training and giving advice to cultural organisations for more than 30 years. My work has always been about making disabled people more visible across our cultural industries, demystifying disability equality and debunking the myths around making the necessary changes. It has been exciting to see that work amplified and platformed in new ways since we set up Ramps on the Moon in 2015, with thanks to the support of the Arts Council.
Ableism is being challenged in the theatre industry and our wider cultural sector like never before, but if the last two years have shown us anything, it is that the place of disabled and deaf people is precarious; we cannot rest in this work.
I see this award as a celebration of what disabled and deaf people have achieved in fighting ableism, and an acknowledgement of the importance of continuing to work for equality in order to enrich our cultural landscape.”
ABOUT MICHÈLE TAYLOR
Michèle Taylor works as Director for Change for Ramps On The Moon. This is the Arts Council Funded consortium aiming to change the theatre sector by bringing more Deaf and disabled people into the sector and making them more visible.
Michèle has more than 25 years experience working in arts and heritage, focusing particularly on disability issues, and a background in professional theatre having performed in, written and directed shows for all ages (credits include work with Graeae and Roundabout Theatre Companies). She is therefore well-placed to support the 7 partner organisations to embed sustainable change and to disseminate their learning so that the wider theatre sector can benefit.
Michèle set up her own business in 1992 to work at that edge where disability and ‘the mainstream’ meet, training and advising organisations on making their practices, policies and premises inclusive of disabled people. Since then, her practice has broadened out to take good account of changes in the legislative approach and in recognition of equality and diversity principles as a whole.
She is a Registered Member of the Institute of Equality and Diversity Professionals, a qualified psychotherapist and accredited coach as well as being an experienced facilitator and trainer.
Previous clients have included strategic bodies such as Arts Council and local authorities as well as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera House, Universities including Nottingham and Gothenberg and the University of the Arts in London, and the Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute. She has been involved for nearly 10 years in an initiative in the Western Balkans supporting Museums to develop policy and practice around disability.
ABOUT RAMPS ON THE MOON
Ramps on the Moon is an award-winning Arts Council funded collaborative theatre network that comprises of core consortium members: New Wolsey Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham REP, Nottingham Playhouse, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Sheffield Theatres.
Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme (RTYDS) and Wiltshire Creative are Associate Partners of the network.
Ramps on the Moon’s aim is to elevate and normalise the place of disabled and deaf people in mid-scale mainstream theatre, and the consortium partners are excited by seeing diversity as an engine for even greater creativity.
Ramps on the Moon’s accolades to date include an Olivier Award nomination for Birmingham REP’s production of The Government Inspector, the UK Theatre Award for Best Touring Production 2017 for The New Wolsey’s production of The Who’s Tommy, and the 2017 UK Theatre Promotion of Diversity Award to The New Wolsey for its work on Ramps on the Moon.
Ramps on the Moon most recent project was award-winning playwright Bryony Lavery’s critically-acclaimed adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, produced by Leeds Playhouse in association with Ramps on the Moon, which was made available to stream during Autumn 2021.