It is also unique in the work it does with people with learning disabilities through the Odyssey project and as part of this week's Disability Week it is performing two separate productions. The Other Robinson Crusoe. Out of Fear examines the relationship between three female friends and the strain they feel when one in the group begins to bully one of her friends. The subject matter is pertinent to people with learning disabilities who can find themselves the targets of cowardly bullies. Last year a Mencap report revealed that 88 per cent of people with learning disabilities were bul-lied in the 12 months prior to the survey.
Theatre is a wonderful medium for people to take part in.
If we were a truly inclusive society and we didn't make differences matter then we wouldn't need Disability Week. While Hijinx is a professional company, employing professional actors and staff, Odyssey is a project based theatre group geared for the community and people with learning disabilities and built around an idea of inclusiveness. It is funded by a three-year Lottery grant from the Arts Council of Wales. Its latest product, The Other Robinson Crusoe, is a devised piece loosely based on the classic Defoe novel which plays on the misconceptions most people have about it. The play is acted and presented by members of Odyssey Theatre.