Helping Hands (2019)

Helping Hands was co-created by directors Hannah Aroni, James Matthews and Jess Gonsalvez along with a majority-autistic-or-otherwise-neurodivergent devising cast and crew. Originally developed with the support of Brunswick Mechanics Institute, it was staged in two formats - a completely sold out debut season in person at Melbourne’s iconic La Mama theatre, and online as a streamable, captioned film.

When the whole world wants you to be a certain way, what does it mean to get help?

Sheridan needs help to do battle with the Department for Very Differently Special Needs, so she can get help for her child. Alice needs help to find a therapist who knows anything at all about autism and gender. And Donna needs … well, no one seems to know exactly what Donna needs. She can’t tell us. Not yet.

Helping Hands was a surrealist, experimental journey through the world of help, digging into everything from the world’s most popular and most controversial autism therapy, to making battle plans to get through parties, to what autistic people really learn at school. It featured a goblin who loves the word “no”, a talk show all about the tragedy of not being autistic, and some real, goddamn, actual friendship. It was a show about what help is, and what help could be.

Critical response:

”While Helping Hands is very playful a lot of the time, it will also suddenly whack you with such an emotional punch at times, demonstrating great range. The balance between emotion and humour is playfully seamless, creating deeply engaging theatre.” — Lucinda Naughton, TheatreTravels

“A_tistic has done a brilliant job of talking about serious topics respectfully, but in a way that confronts the viewer. … Some of these skits could have easily been pulled from my own life … This show is cathartic for those of us who are Neurodivergent and it’s a chance to listen, learn and understand for everyone else. It was fantastic.” — Jess Flint, Witness

“… a phenomenal piece of theatre … The dramaturgy is excellent and the story telling clear, dynamic and completely engaging. The acting is uniformly engrossing and the lighting (Collopy) and sound (Anderson) work to shift between a world of nightmares and safety. What sets Helping Hands in a stratosphere rarely reached by most theatrical performances is the team manages to create safe spaces for the audience to get what they need for their comfort and safety. … I really cannot speak too highly of Helping Hands …” — Samsara Dunston, WhatDidSheThink

”It’s not autism 101. They’re taking the conversation further. … they’ve made it thought-provoking and entertaining. This is a fine example of original Australian theatre. Even better, it’s an inclusive, intersectional example of original Australian theatre. More please.” — Sophia Dickinson, Stage Whispers 

“The show's brilliance lies in the fact that they don't water down their content assuming a lack of knowledge among the audience - they make a genuine effort to convey the dense content in ways that will be understandable, accessible, and enjoyable. And they succeed in this.” — Aridhi Anderson, Weekend Notes

Further info:

This scene-by-scene list of content and sensory warnings for Helping Hands was provided alongside the online season.

This Relaxed Performance Guide was originally prepared for the in-person season.

Read our online Q and A answers here

Check out the in-person season program for Helping Hands, including Directors’ Notes, info about our team, and thank yous

alexithymia (2017)

Presented in collaboration with Citizen Theatre, written by Tom Middleditch and directed by Jayde Kirchert, staged at Meat Market as part of Poppy Seed Theatre Festival.

Alexithymia was an anthology of three sci-fi-/speculative fiction stories inspired by the condition of alexithymia, the inability to identify one’s own emotions. The pieces explored phenomenology, society, technology, mental health and the challenges of balancing personal preference or self-knowledge with belonging and success.

 Critical response:

“...neurodiverse experience raises profound human questions, as well as challenges. At its best, Alexithymia probes them without skimping on emotional intelligence, nuance or complexity.” – Cameron Woodhead, Sydney Morning Herald

“Middleditch’s writing is muscular, funny, ironic, moving, multi-faceted. It provides a rich canvas with which the neuro-diverse cast and creative team of Alexithymia can play in the world of naming (and not knowing how to name) complex emotions and states of being we all struggle to define but are often medically forced to do.” – Melinda Keyte, ArtsHub

pinocchio restrung (2016)

Written and directed by Tom Middleditch, staged at Metanoia Theatre (now known as Brunswick Mechanics Institute) as part of the 2016 Melbourne Fringe Festival.  

Pinocchio Restrung was an adaptation of the classic story set in a modern/fantastical Australia, exploring themes of self-acceptance, social convention, parenting without a road map, the (mis)education of autistic people, and surrealist fairy tale as metaphor for autistic lived experience.

 Critical response:

“Tom Middleditch has adapted Pinocchio’s tale as an allegory for a boy with autism who is attempting to become a “real boy”. Middleditch, himself on the autism spectrum, has created a thoughtful intelligent story that not only looks at the anxieties and difficulties people with autism can experience but also those their parents undergo in attempting to understand and accept their child as they are.” – Myron My, Theatre Press

Them aspies (2014, remounted 2015)

Co-created by directors Jess Gonsalvez and Tom Middleditch and full devising cast, staged at and presented with Monash University Student Theatre.

Them Aspies was a collaborative devised work, an off-kilter sketch drama/comedy, exploring themes of identity, confusion, coping, post-diagnosis self-regard, isolation, victimisation, therapy, abuse, and self-acceptance.

Them Aspies’ devising cast included: Jacinta Anderson, Matthew Church (2014 run only), James Matthews, Hugo Ménard (2015 run only), Isabella Octigan, Matthew Portelli, Eliza Quinn, Shamita Sivabalan, Luis Viota and Ronnie Yang.

Critical response:

“With conversation in regards to autism constantly present in the media and a rise in autism diagnoses, Them Aspies answers questions about autism and Asperger’s in an innovative and refreshing way that resonates with you long after the show is over.” – Carina Florea, Lot’s Wife

“Groundbreaking, not only in its use of theatrical techniques to portray the experiences of people on the spectrum, but also the level of insight and wisdom into all aspects of Aspie-hood.” - Lyndel Kennedy, author and former President of Aspergers Victoria Inc.