Of course, there were already specialist theatre groups doing great work, like the brilliant GRAEAE and Chickenshed but we wanted to tackle the mainstream media, to get disabled artists seen in every home.
So we met the biggest media organisations on their own terms and persuaded them they should feature disabled talent in mainstream productions, as a matter of course and in doing so, use their power to influence thinking, with maximum impact.
That supertanker of prejudice and preconception had to be turned around. Happily, we occasionally found a senior creative with insight, sometimes with a disabled family member, which encouraged them to open a door to us for the big picture we are trying to achieve.
Usually that door is only a tiny aperture. But we possess a wedge of determination to push forward, so it’s a start.
The sole objective of VisABLE has always been to have artists portraying empowered characters, integral to the production, where an actor’s disability or difference is probably apparent but irrelevant to the part.
Naturally, we receive disability specific roles too and we are well equipped to provide artists able to give an authentic portrayal of characteristics wanted for the role. Better to cast a genuinely disabled actor than one who learns to fake an impairment.
In 2016, Louise was awarded an MBE in the late Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours List, presented by the (now) King Charles. For her contribution to the Entertainment industry, creating VisABLE, the world’s first agency for disabled actors, presenters and models.