Exciting Mansfield festival shouts up for the learning disabled and autistic

But not in Mansfield. When 900 people stomped through the streets in 2019, the focus was on a subject arguably more important.

Namely, the rights of people with learning disabilities and autism, and how society treats them.

The annual OneWalk is on the starting line again next month. But this time, it has an extra sting in its tail because it raises the curtain on a week-long festival of events celebrating disability and diversity in Mansfield.

The inaugural OneFest, which takes place between September 13 and 19, promises seven days of culture, conversation and comedy. All underpinned by an eclectic and lively programme of laughs, theatre, free workshops, social events and panel discussions.

The stellar line-up of artistes includes ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ winner Lee Ridley (aka Lost Voice Guy), Harriet Dyer, Aaron Simmonds, Cerys Bradley, Juliette Burton and Jonny Awsum.

The innovative festival is the brainchild of OneConversation, an activist charity based in Mansfield that works to dismantle the stigma, discrimination and segregation experienced by people with disabilities.

It has joined forces with Ingenious Fools, a Nottingham-based production company, run by Susanna Clark, that stages theatre and comedy tours across the UK.

Tracy Radford, a co-founder of OneConversation, alongside Brad English, said: “This is an opportunity for learning disabled and autistic individuals to experience culture like anyone else.

"Also, to take part in workshops that are not usually on offer to them, create new friends through raucous parties and social opportunities, and to generally access society in an equitable way.

"We want to ask the question of why society seems to place little value on the rights and lives of disabled and autistic members of our world.

"We are not satisfied, and neither should you be. Try your hand at life drawing (yes, actual naked people!), record a pop song, learn how to become an activist, and generally start to feel more satisfied.”

The life drawing refers to an art workshop to be held during OneFest on Thursday, September 16 at the Old Library Theatre, where OneConversation is based.

And the pop song refers to a recording session with professional singer/songwriter Tash Bird the previous day, also at the theatre. Those who take part can help to create and record backing vocals for Tash’s latest single, ‘Only When I’m Drunk’.

The week kicks off, however, with the fourth annual OneWalk on Monday, September 13, starting at 11 am from the Market Square, where there will be live music all day on an open-air stage.

It is for everyone, and marchers are encouraged to create banners connected to the week’s theme of ‘Are You Satisfied?’

When first held in 2017, the march attracted 400 people. This went up to 600 in 2018 and 900 the year before Covid struck.

Its success and the need to maintain the message all year round led to the formation of OneConversation. And it has been turned into a huge success by the Nottinghamshire-based duo Tracy, who has worked in social care for many years, and Brad, who is a clinical psychologist specialising in learning disability. They have a team of ten activists, all based in Mansfield and Ashfield.

To put it bluntly, their aim is not to run a group that attracts sympathy and raises pots of money every now and then through genteel arts and crafts fairs. It is to campaign actively and publicly for social change.

“We consider ourselves attached to a movement,” said Tracy. “The whole ethos is to change the way people with learning disability and autism are treated.

"We shouldn’t see them as victims or as children, but as fully functioning adults with needs, hopes and desires like everyone else. They have had a bum deal in life and are not well enough supported by the system.”Tracy and Brad say the Covid lockdowns underlined how segregated from society learning disabled and autistic people have become.

"But nobody seems to be challenging this,” said Brad. “As a progressive society, we shouldn’t be segregating anyone.

"We need to make society work for everybody. It is not enough to be kind to them. We need to push them to achieve things. Instead, they are getting the roughest deal.”

Tracy and Brad are keen to “make Mansfield and Ashfield a model of good practice and to show the rest of the UK how it’s done”. They hope OneFest, which has won funding from the Arts Council, will take the charity further down the road of progress.

“It’s important to stress too that the week is not just for people learning disabilities and autism,” said Brad. “It is for everyone to go along and be with them. It’s all about coming together.”

The march will conclude with an after-party at the Capo Lounge restaurant on Stockwell Gate, giving the chance to chat, share a beer and enjoy a ‘Guilty Pleasures’ disco hour.

The following night, Capo Lounge stages the first comedy event, with performances from learning disabled and autistic people who have taken part in a stand-up training programme.

Friday night (September 17) will belong to the Mansfield-based Unanima theatre company, which challenges audiences to think differently about disability.

And then, a weekend of comedy at the Old Library Theatre will host the star names. Jonny Awsum (‘The Kids Show’), Juliette Burton (‘ReDefined’) and Lost Voice Guy take to the stage on the Saturday, followed by Cerys Bradley (‘Sportsperson’), Aaron Simmonds (‘Hot Wheels’) and Harriet Dyer (‘Work In Progress’) on the Sunday, all for a small admission fee.

“It will be intense and exciting,” said Susanna, of Ingenious Fools. “The programme will reflect the ethos of ‘we’re not satisfied’, demanding equity and respect for the disabled community.

"We are pleased to be bringing this to Mansfield. After Covid, people need events and they need to have a laugh.”

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