Child's Play

Chua Lik Ling, the head of children and youth programming at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, explains to Hong Xinyi the art of creating theatre for children with special needs

- Hong Xinyi

THE LIGHTS DIM. A HUSH envelops the theatre as the play begins. Then, perhaps startled by a dramatic sound cue, a child in the audience starts to cry, sparking off a chain reaction of whimpering from other children. Parents of young children might be familiar with this scenario, but choose to brave the odds of an occasional outburst. Parents of children with special needs, however, face many more considerations. Children on the autism spectrum, for instance, can be very sensitive to sensory stimuli, which means things like loud noises may provoke anxiety and strong reactions. For these families, a theatre outing might feel all too daunting.