Screens

Screens is a bold new theatre work led by Perth artist and advocate Julia Hales, who has Down syndrome (DS). At a time when people with DS are thriving, advances in prenatal testing threaten the future of their community. Drawing on lived experience and research showing that people with DS and their families report high levels of happiness and pride, Screens challenges fear and stigma with compassion and truth. Created by Hales and her long-time collaborator Finn O’Branagain (Sydney), with Chris and Dani Kohn (Cairns) and Hermione Merry (Castlemaine)—all parents of children with DS—the work combines text, live and recorded video, immersive sound and visual design. Screens gives voice to those rarely heard in conversations about testing, ethics, and inclusion, offering audiences an entertaining, moving, and thought-provoking experience celebrating life, love, and difference.