Six UK Lets the Wheels Fall Off on Accessibility and Disability

Hello! First, let me say I'm sorry for not posting anything to this blog in the last year and a half. No excuses, I just had no inspiration and couldn't really think of anything to write about. I hope everyone who reads this has been well, has been safe, and is getting vaccinated or has already been vaccinated. I cannot stress that last point enough - GET VACCINATED if you have not already done so!

To be completely honest I was not planning on writing a new post yet, but yesterday I saw this and it needed to be talked about, so let's get into this mess that Six the musical in London has gotten itself into.

First, a little background - Six is a musical that has been running on the West End in London since early 2019 and has been an international success since - with other productions playing in Sydney, a U.K. Tour, and a U.S. pre-Broadway tour that will officially open on Broadway in September now that the pandemic is (hopefully) beginning to subside.

The show places the 6 wives of the famous Henry VIII - Catharine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Katherine Parr - as a pop group on their "Divorced, Beheaded, Live Tour" and their end goal (or so they claim) is to get the audience to choose who will lead the group based on who they believe had most hardship to deal with over the course of their lives and during their marriages to Henry. The show allows the audience to film a song they do after curtain call, which they call "Megasix".

On July 14, the show in London announced that they will be relocating theatres on the West End, moving to the Vaudeville Theatre beginning September 29th. At first this all seemed well and good, but soon enough more and more people began to express outrage, and some research shows why. Seatplan.com's description of the Vaudeville's accessibility is as follows:

The Vaudeville Theatre main entrance is situation on the Strand and the foyer can be accessed via one 5cm step up through double doors. Once inside, the Box Office is to the right. All sections of the theatre must be  accessed via steps, which are highlighted with handrails in place.

Alternatively, the Stalls can be accessed via the secure AAT Major Stair Climber, which travels down 6 steps. The stair climber can accommodate wheelchairs up to 66cm wide and 89cm deep, including a footrest. The maximum weight allowed is 190kg. When in motion, the stair climber reclines on a flat surface and is extremely safe, enduring that the wheelchair users travels upright. This venue is not suitable for motorised wheelchairs.

There are no disabled facilities available in the theatre. Patrons are able to use the Adelphi Theatre facilities, located 100 metres along the Strand.

Wow.... there is a lot to unpack here. In the first paragraph alone I see major issues. First of all, there is no way for a person in a wheelchair to be able to easily access the theatre with no ramps, and the fact that someone in a wheelchair would have to go up a step, even one that is 5 cm, is completely absurd - especially in 2021. Second, ALL the sections of the theatre must be accessed via steps. Yes, all of the sections. How exactly is a person in a wheelchair supposed to get around the theatre, let alone access it in the first place?!?!?! 

In the second paragraph, it should be noted that it states that the theatre is not suited for "motorised wheelchairs" (I'd argue based on this statement that the theatre isn't accessible for wheelchairs at all, but I digress). And finally. and perhaps worst of all, the third paragraph. Reading this portion literally makes me shiver and want to cry at the same time. How, in 2021, do you not have an accessible toilet in the ENTIRE theatre for people with disabilities to use? And as if that is not bad enough, the theatre expects people with disabilities to physically LEAVE the theatre and walk over 300 feet to a different theatre just to be able to use a toilet.

Words cannot even begin to express how outraged I was when I read all of this, and many others were outraged as well. Backlash on Twitter was swift, with multiple people calling out the show and its producers for its lack of care and consideration for people with disabilities when negotiating the move to the Vaudeville.

Approximately eight (yes, eight...) hours later, Six finally put out a statement concerning the controversy:

As one could probably guess by reading this statement, people were not thrilled or satisfied with this response from the show. First, from purely a disabilities perspective, the statement is an image, not text that can be highlighted, copied, and pasted, meaning it cannot be read by screen reading technology which helps those with visual impairments. Second, the line about having an "ongoing conversation" enraged many, myself included. Why were we, the disability community, not included in these so called "conversations" in the first place? Will people with disabilities be paid for being a part of these "conversations" or as in the past are we expected to just volunteer our expertise for free? These questions have not been answered, and it only got worse from there.

One hour later, Six put out the same statement in a tweet which said:

Hi Queens, We are reposting our latest message from the producers of SIX with alt text. We're sorry we didn't post it this way the first time <3

Maybe it's just me... but just reposting the image with alt text is not enough. You are still only talking about conversations instead of apologizing for not including us in the first place. Also, having conversations is nowhere near enough. This is not a brand new topic, and people have complained about inaccessibility before. Most theatres have been inaccessible for far too long, and some of them have been refurbished to be made more accessible. There is no reason at all why the same cannot be done for the Vaudeville.

For a show that claims to be all about inclusion and diversity, Six is certainly not seeing disability as part of that inclusion, which is very disappointing. The fact of the matter is - this show has actively decided not to be accessible for people with disabilities, meaning no one with a disability can attend to see it. This exclusion is outrageous, regardless of its intention.

Also, I've seen some discourse on various forums and on social media concerning this topic on how people in the U.K. often talk about how difficult it is to modify and renovate a historic building, as the Vaudeville is, due to laws in place and also because it is overly complicated and expensive. I respond to this claim with three things.

1. If the laws are out of date or need to be updated, or in this case not being followed (see the Equalities Act on 2010, which has still not been implemented) lobby your members of parliament or your local officials to do something about it. In 2021 there is NO reason why accessibility shouldn't be a the bare minimum we expect with any building we enter anywhere in the world.
2. Regardless if it is overly complicated of expensive, I really don't care. That is an excuse. The money would be well spent and needs to be used to upgrade these buildings.
3. None of this gives Six a pass for not doing its research on The Vaudeville prior to signing the deal concerning their move to the theatre. The fact that they just signed the contract without even thinking about accessibility is shameful.

I leave you with this - Why is it that when it comes to accessibility there always have to be "conversations" after the fact when something has already been done to hurt the disability community? Why don't people think to approach us before the decisions are made? Now is the time for action, not conversations. Many disabled theatre-makers, consultants, producers, etc. have affordable rates and can be paid for this kind of work. People with disabilities should not be expected to work, unpaid, and put ourselves in a vulnerable position by listening to non-disabled people explain themselves, again.

I love the music of Six, but if this is not rectified completely I don't think I can continue to support it.