Review: Rogue Theatre’s Winter Wood

Rogue Theatre’s Winter Wood is a really magical experience for children and adults alike. Set in the woods at North Tehidy, the audience are invited to follow the twisted winding trail through the woods discovering faeries and magical beings along the way. There is a story from Old Man Winter and encounters with several faeries as you wander through the woods, before you move to the main performance where you can enjoy live music, festive stories as well as hot chocolate or mulled wine and mince pies.

There are 8 shows each day, each performance lasting one hour and 40 mins and the shows run until December 30th.

This year our reviewer Eddie Callis went along to enjoy the Winter Wood and Viki, our director went along with her family.

This year the audience encounter several faeries and can enjoy the faerie who dances with fire and also the wishing faerie who tells everyone about clootie wells invites everyone to make a wish and tie a cloot around a tree.

“I have been to the Winter Wood for several years now and I always enjoy it,” says Eddie. “This year, once again, I really enjoyed the whole creative atmosphere and the collaboration. There are shadow puppets which were really  impressive and I enjoyed watching them.”

On his visit this year Eddie and the team looked out for helpful accessibility information and talked to the very helpful team at Rogue Theatre to find out what accessibility support there is to enjoy the event:

• There is a car park located nearby to the Rogue Theatre venue at Tehidy Woods and if you call to arrange ahead, you can drive on down to a drop-off point close to the show tent so that wheelchair users or those with other access needs can be dropped off very close to the tents, avoiding the woodland trail which is a little less accessible.
  
• There is an accessible toilet next to the other toilets just behind the main marquee. There is a hand rail, an alarm rope and a foldable changing table which can be moved to make more space for a wheelchair.

• The Rogue Theatre always tries to make it as easy as possible for the disabled to get around, the paths through the woodland are laid with wood chip, and the are over a metre wide, meaning that even if the pathway gets wet these are still able to be used by people in wheelchairs if those wheelchairs are quite rugged — they may not, for example be appropriate for individuals using electric scooters. Once at the main marquee, there are areas for wheelchairs to go and accessible toilets are available. There are some photos of the pathways below.

• The shows are fairly loud with lots of bright lights and sparkle — but for autistic people or those with sensory processing sensitivity, hearing impairment, or those who just might like quieter times, the daytime sessions are usually quieter, and as it is set in the woods there are plenty of quiet spaces to escape to if the show gets a bit overwhelming. We went along with a young child who is autistic and we have to say the Rogue Theatre team were incredibly helpful. There is a quiet space at the back which the team pointed out and they are also very helpful about arranging snacks and letting individuals who need to step out for some quieter time and space do as they wish — it’s easy to do this discreetly.

• For those with vision or mobility impairment, our reviewers would say that it is best to visit the woodland shows in the daytime as at night it is harder to see pathways and uneven terrain as you walk through the wood and the edges of the pathways are not clearly marked.
• The staff are friendly and helpful and some have good experience supporting people with disabilities and this is made clear when you call for help ahead of a visit.
• Discounts are available for those with disabilities and carers are able to visit the Rogue Theatre for free.

• Contact witch@rogueotherworld.co.uk or call 07837561483 for accessibility enquiries.

• There are plans in the future for there to be a show that is signed with sign language, please contact the team for more information.

Find out more and book tickets at rogueotherworld.co.uk/winter-wood-2021/

Rogue Theatre put on seasonal shows throughout the year. See the latest shows and join their mailing list at their website: rogueotherworld.co.uk