Support us

We champion Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists and advocate for the stories, forms and perspectives too often pushed to the margins of the cultural landscape.

It gave me a starting point in how to be present as an artist with a disability from the Global Majority.

VX Labs participant

I feel so much more confident in pitching myself and approaching theatres now.

Wellspring Writer

With the learning that we had, it spurred me and the other artists to access, participate and be selected to be part of the most amazing opportunities.

VX Lab participant

Wellspring has taught me to honour my needs, and has given me to confidence not to fit in, but to assert myself.

Wellspring Writer

Helping me start to write an access rider was very helpful.

VX Labs participant

Your support is vital

One in five people in the UK identify as disabled, however only 9% of artists and leaders in the arts are disabled.

We want to make a difference where it matters the most and strive to be a company where disabled artists can safely test, evolve and produce their work.

We are a registered charity with a small, dedicated and mighty team for four part-time staff.

To do our work we rely on donations and funding from public bodies and charitable trusts. We are grateful for the public trust and investment we have been receiving from Arts Council England since 2012, and from Trusts and Foundations.

However, these grants can only cover part of our work.

We don’t believe it is fair to cut down on proper pay for artists, their artistic ambition or the access provisions required.

Can you support this vital work?

A man in black signs in front of a digital screen displaying colourful comic-style illustrations and text, in a classroom or lecture setting.

Why support Vital Xposure?

Only 10% of theatre audiences identify as disabled.

Artists engaging with Vital Xposure are supported throughout the journey with us: from the initial concept and play with an idea through to provocations and questions about theatre-making and storytelling they want to bring to life.

Their experience with us provides a stepping stone in their career, brining pride and enjoyment of their craft and their positing in the arts landscape.

Being able to have the space to think freely, dream big, aspire with intention and write it down. I learnt so much about myself because for the first me, I could really look at myself and believe in myself as a person from the Global Majority and artist with a disability or super-power.

VX Lab participant

One of the most impactful aspects of the Lab was the sense of collective care and shared experience. I found it deeply affirming to be in a space where the intersections of disability and decolonisation were not just acknowledged but centred in a meaningful way.

VX Lab participant

“Wellspring presented an opportunity to show up as an autistic creative without having to unpack to everyone else what that actually means.”
“I felt empowered, visible and educated.”

Wellspring Writers

Our Productions

Our productions offer an accessible, high quality and enjoyable theatre experience for audiences. We invite them to view the world through a disabled-led lens that interrogates how and shows stories are told with artistic integrity.

Accessibility of a production for artists and audiences alike is never an afterthought. It is a creative force that pushes the boundaries of the theatre canon and how audiences in the 21st century engage with theatre.

Vital Xposure’s innovative approach to creative access has been widely recognised sector awards and accolades by audiences and reviewers.

Two people stand in space intensely facing each other. On the left is a Black woman with long dreadlocks, in a bright red short-sleeved cardigan. On the right is a Black man wearing a sleeveless undershirt.

Every time I see a Vital Xposure show I’m reminded that the world disables people, they aren’t born that way.

[Creative captions were] an incredibly powerful choice to not only make accessibility a part of the production, but arguably a part of the storytelling itself.”

Kendra Jones blog

Support inclusive theatre

Every amount we receive is committed to our pledge to disabled artists and audiences until we reach an inclusive theatre sector where we are no longer needed.

Until that day comes, we need to continue offering inclusive career development opportunities and accessible theatre. We cannot do this without your help.

Two people in serious conversation. On the left, a mature white woman with piercing, blue watchful eyes and a shaved head, wearing a green sleeveless coat over a black and white patterned top and black shiny trousers. She is conversing with a young bearded Black man, wearing a black and white patterned hat and jacket. In the background, projected onto a grey wall, a light skinned brown woman with a shaved head interprets their conversation into British Sign Language.

How your donations help

Two in five disabled people miss arts and cultural events due to uncertainty about their accessibility.

Only half of theatres include shows with integrated access in their programme, but not all of their shows integrate access.

Your donations will help us provide more professional development and staging opportunities to many more disabled theatre-makers across the country.

Compared to many arts companies and practitioners, our company and many disabled artists are at disadvantage because of costs to make their workplace and conditions barrier-free and accessible.

Your support can help us level the playing field and make sure disabled artists are not excluded from the theatre world and absent from the ‘mainstream’. For example, we can

Even a few pounds can go a long way, from assistive technology and accessible travel expenses to covering more hours for an access support worker or a British Sign Language interpreter.

Donate today

You can start donating any amount you want via our dedicated charity donations page on Givey

Donate now

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Give as you shop online

You can raise funds for us without spending anything extra!

Every time you shop online from any of easyfundraising‘s 8,000 participating retailers, they will make make a donation to Vital Xposure at no extra cost for you.

Join easyfundraising for free

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Our Impact

We are committed to making artists’ involvement in our work a stepping stone both for their creative practice and their professional career. Over the years we have been supporting 50-60 artists per year and have presented innovative, accessible shows to over 14k audiences with sold-out shows in every tour.

Find out more