Pennine Mencap Takes Over Manchester Museum for Variety of Life Festival

A local charity collaborated with Manchester Museum as it staged an all-round spectacle for visitors, young and old, to witness the Variety of Life Festival.

This collaboration celebrated the breathtaking world of nature and all the creatures big and small.

Performers from Pennine Mencap put on a show for the Museum's audiences across two separate slots on a packed-out day at the Living Worlds Gallery. 

The charity supports and provides opportunities for adults with learning disabilities and complex needs in the local area. Performers had been rehearsing for several months leading up to the big day with three vastly different groups set to perform, there was something for everyone to enjoy. 

The charity promotes accessible opportunities for disabled adults to engage with a range of different disciplines, with strands including their ShowAbility dance group, a unique in-house music therapy service, and the experienced Rhodes Bank Choir.  

Each group put on a display of their skills, all based around Mother Nature and the natural world.

Their newest addition was the ShowAbility group led by activity coordinator Emily Trelore, which creates movement-based pieces featuring theatrical techniques and elements.  

Stories were told through dance and music, constructed around different animals on the planet – as well as the famous “March of Progress” illustration of human evolution.  

The charity works alongside the Nordoff & Robbins Music Therapy group to create several pieces incorporating dramatic sensory experiences and fan favourite soundtracks such as “Jurassic Park”, played using live instruments and iPads.  

The audience’s attention was grabbed by the journey through sound, contrasting from booming percussion to faint and fragile resonance. 

The Rhodes Bank Choir, led by fellow activity coordinator Tom Morris, was the final performance of the sets, displaying unique pieces founded in sound rather than lyrics, as well as a live soundscape section devoted to animal sounds, creating an atmospheric experience for the audience to be a part of. 

Visitors to the Museum on the busy Saturday were invited to make custom animal-style totem shakers with the charity's project coordinator, Beccy Gittings. These were used to interact with performances through shaking the rice-filled bottles to create relevant sounds and get engaged. Families watched their children take part in the show and be entranced by the unpredictable character of the Earth's habitat. 

A young audience member said, “I'm going to have dreams of light-up jellyfish after watching the show,” from seeing the Showability group tell stories about how humans behave with the natural inhabitants of the world surrounding us, inspired by illuminated umbrellas used to represent jellyfish in the final dance."

The performers from the charity had worked tirelessly to perfect their routines and set their goal to mesmerize crowds with their hard work.

"This certainly paid off", as one audience member stated. "We are glad we stayed for the whole thing; it was inspiring from start to end.”