Access Consultant Katy McLeod has worked across a variety of industries for CAE since 2024 and has a specialism in arts and theatre venue accessibility. She says that improving accessibility is good for business as it doesn’t just benefit customers, it can help with staff retention, too. Read on to learn more.
How did you get involved with CAE and what has drawn you to arts and theatre venue accessibility?
My first project with CAE was observing an access audit with them in 2023 at Streatham Youth and Community Trust Youth Centre. That was in preparation for my first assignment with CAE the following year. In 2024, I completed my first audit with CAE on the Elfrida Society’s Community Hub building.
In terms of arts and theatre venue accessibility, after working as a live events producer for 13 years, I’ve naturally developed a specialism in such venues within my access consultancy. I’ve also recently received a grant to develop access expertise in digitally streamed events, so I’m excited to expand my training in virtual reality technology.
What do you enjoy about supporting arts venues and theatres with improving accessibility?
I’ve found that people often make assumptions about accessible design and heritage buildings. Their understanding of what is possible is often coloured by a lack of insight into solutions available. Even historical and listed buildings can be made accessible such as The Charterhouse in London.
Being able to help figureheads of organisations broaden their understanding of what is possible can be really rewarding.
What challenges does arts venue and theatre industry face when it comes to accessibility and how can they be overcome?
Some venues would say that finding funding to make accessibility changes is a barrier, but I would disagree. In my experience, organisations who fund the arts are more likely to provide funding to venues that are inclusive and/or have an ambition to be more accessible.
England’s competitive funding landscape means that arts venues can financially benefit when considering access to a greater extent. Working with an access consultancy such as CAE can help overcome challenges regarding accessibility.
Why should the arts venue and theatre industry learn more about accessibility improvements?
Statistics say that up to 24% of the UK population is disabled. In a cost-of-living crisis few theatres could risk alienating such a significant proportion of current and future customers.
If some people can’t get through your venue’s entrance because there isn’t a ramp, you’re going to find it a challenge diversifying your audiences because your venue is not enabling access for everyone.
It’s not just about customers, either. Considering inclusivity in your design helps attract a more diverse workforce. It also has the potential to help prevent further costs being incurred in the future through Access To Work applications that employees submit as part of their reasonable adjustments requests. Being an accessible workplace helps employees deliver a higher standard of output.
Can you give us an example where your work has made a significant impact in terms of inclusion and access?
A while back I worked on a national tour of a show that featured a cast of actors who had a range of disabilities; this is something that’s rare to find in the touring theatre sector, even to this day. For each of the venues hosting the show, I completed site visits and flagged access barriers that would impact the acting company. I researched and recommended solutions, such as identifying where ramps were needed and alterations to handles. As a result, the actors were more enabled to navigate different working environments.
Is there anything you want to share in terms of improving accessibility in this sector that others might be surprised to learn?
Implementing a more inclusive environment may require more investment, but organisations can lose more money in the long run by not being inclusive, either by alienating customers or potentially through liability. Organisations can get expert advice on how to make practical changes to improve things for their customers through an accessibility audit. I highly recommend working with CAE and commissioning an access audit with them.
If you would like to book an accessibility audit with CAE, or learn more about them, call us on 020 7822 8232 or email info@cae.org.uk.