Inside First Draft with The Magnificent Weirdos

 

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Sameena Zehra and Helen Vivienne Fletcher, the creative duo behind The Magnificent Weirdos, to learn more about their bold and brilliant approach to access-led theatre-making.

As co-Artistic Directors, Sameena and Helen are building a platform for disabled, neurodiverse, d/Deaf, and artists with lived experience of mental distress to develop new work — centering inclusion, creativity and joy at every stage of the process. Their latest initiative, First Draft, is a public showcase of works in progress, offering playwrights rare access to feedback and support while inviting audiences to be part of the creative journey.

We’re thrilled to welcome First Draft to The Hannah from 15–17 August — a three-day season of staged readings, audience kōrero, and fresh new theatre you won’t want to miss.

What inspired you to start The Magnificent Weirdos, and how did the idea for First Draft come about?

Sameena: I really just wanted to create a practice that focused on putting access and inclusion at the heart of making art. Although there are many communities that are marginalised because of ideological, systemic and political reasons, there are actual physical barriers added when you come to the d/Deaf and disabled community and low income folks. These are the two categories of marginalisation we focus on at The Magnificent Weirdos. As an able bodied person living in an ableist world, I am very aware that no matter how much ‘talent’ I may have, or how hard I may work (not, very, tbh – quite happy laying on a sofa for hours, reading and eating crisps), there are those who are more talented, more hardworking, with more interesting stories to tell who haven’t had the opportunities I have, because they haven’t had the access I have. Helen joining as co-Artistic Director last year was great, because we share a lot of the same basic values and aspirations for the creative community. She brings a great understanding of the creative process, is a talented writer and performer, and has the lived experience that is pertinent to this kaupapa.

The idea for First Draft came about when Helen and I were discussing how to make a viable next project. Initially, we wanted to make a whole show following from a development season of another show we had done, but we couldn’t figure out how to resource it. So we came up with the idea of creating something that was helpful for writers, gave an opportunity that is seldom available to any writer (let alone those from marginalised communities), and builds a relationship between practitioner and audience.

Why is it important for you to create spaces where disabled, neurodiverse, d/Deaf and artists with lived experience of mental distress can develop and share new work?

Helen: For any artist, there are a lot of barriers to creating theatre, especially somewhere like New Zealand where theatre makers often have to take on multiple roles or produce their own work. For disabled artists, the roadblocks are often doubled or tripled. Many opportunities for development are inaccessible, and it can be easy to lose confidence when there is no clear path forward to getting work to the stage. I was lucky enough to be given several opportunities in my early playwriting days which gave me the skills and faith in my work to keep going, and progress my work. My hope now is that by creating spaces for other disabled artists, we can remove some of the road blocks, and help these writers build confidence in their work and writing futures. 

Sameena: Following on from what Helen has already said, it’s important for creators to breathe freely in order to make their work intentionally and joyfully; to be in a space created for and by them. Of course the work belongs in mainstream spaces and is for all audiences who appreciate extraordinary work, but the making of it is more constructively done in spaces which are led and populated by the communities who are making the work.

Can you tell us about the kinds of stories and voices the audience might experience through these readings?

Helen: The plays for First Draft cover a wide range of themes, genres and styles, from completely silent pieces, solo shows, works inspired by mythology, comedies, dramas and more. We kept the theme very open, and we’ve been delighted to see the myriad of directions the playwrights took their pieces in. 

Audience kōrero is a big part of this event. How does that feedback shape the creative development of the work?

Helen: Any piece of new writing can benefit from outside eyes, but this is especially true of theatre. Plays naturally change and grow once they have voices behind them. There are so many things that shift once off the page, and audiences will be able to experience this fresh without having read the written form of the work. Giving playwrights the chance to ask questions directly of their audience allows a rare opportunity to gain insights into how the work is landing, and where work is still to be done.

Sameena: Writing can be such a solitary process; early feedback is a really great way of solving problems and clearing sticking points… just being able to stand back from the work, so to speak, and hear what it sounds like to the audience, what they take away from it and how close (or far) it is to the intention it was written with… that can clear so much debris from the process of making new work!

What kind of experience do you hope audiences — especially those unfamiliar with disability- or mental distress-led work — will take away from First Draft?

Helen: First and foremost, I hope the audience enjoys being a part of the creation of new New Zealand theatre and getting a taste of the amazing talent within New Zealand’s disabled communities. Like in any community, there are a range of different storytelling styles, voices and pressing narratives coming out of this workshop. I hope that audiences will find pieces they enjoy, and new artists to follow in their future work.

Sameena: Our focus as a company is d/Deaf and disabled writers, but that need not be the focus for the audience. The audience is there to enjoy the work, give feedback, and be part of the creative process. All interesting work is informed by the lived experience of the person making it while being universally relatable in terms of the wider human experience. That’s what I hope any audience takes away from any theatre experience.

Can you talk about the accessibility features you’ve built into the event, and why this is non-negotiable in your everyday mahi?

Helen: The Hannah is a fully wheelchair accessible venue. All performances will have NZSL interpretation. Because of the nature of these performances, with the stage directions read aloud, they will be accessible to the blind/low vision community without audio description and there will be a preshow introduction for blind guests. We’ve tried to space the shows to allow time for audiences to take a break between, and we have “choose your price” tickets, to help reduce financial barriers.

As a disabled person, I have been excluded from many events, not out of malice but from simple oversight or accessibility being placed in the “too hard” basket. It’s important to me that events I work on are as accessible, equitable and welcoming as possible to my community.

Sameena: Following on from what Helen has said, access is as non-negotiable to me as health and safety, or feminism, or intersectional activism. It is a way of living in the world, of building the kind of society we should aspire to, in which we actively work towards, and take pleasure in everyone being able to achieve their creative potential. There is an ideal to aspire to and we will probably always fall short of it, but the idea is to keep access at the forefront of conceiving, planning and executing the mahi. We have an accessibility checklist and we go through it at the beginning of the process, and throughout the process… what can we have/how much will it cost/where is the funding available/what can we do with minimal or no resource/what can we koha… this is also why it is important to collectively, as a society be advocating for access as a systemic, political, social construct. Individuals can do only so much; it requires systemic change. I don’t want to miss out on all the amazing work that exists amongst us because we as society failed to provide the basic requirements for it to be created and to flourish.

Could you explain a bit more about the Playmarket workshop. What do you hope playwrights will gain from that experience?

Helen: When starting out as a playwright, it can be difficult to get your head around the different elements that go into creating theatre. Playwrights may not know what resources and opportunities are available to them, nor what they may need to create successful work. These are the kinds of elements playwright can learn about in this Q&A session, tapping into Murray (Lynch’s) wealth of experience and expertise.

Sameena: Writers are writers: that is their skill. Getting a work from paper to stage requires all sorts of things that writers may not know, nor care about. Producers, directors, actors, publicity, marketing, copyright, licensing work, funding… it's really useful to know how these things work whether or not the writers will do any of it themselves. Murray is the perfect person to lead this mahi, with his decades of experience across all aspects of theatre-making.

What does a truly inclusive theatre ecosystem look like to you — and how can others support that vision?

Helen: Accessibility starts with communication. I would love to see conversations about accessibility become commonplace at the start of every project. Building accessibility in from the beginning is a lot easier than trying to make it work later on. I would love to see every venue and every show communicating what accessible options they do and don’t have on every performance. I would love to see open dialogues and consultation about access become a part of every theatre experience. Accessibility doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful, but it does need to be communicated in clear and honest ways.

Sameena: Adding to what Helen has said, I would like to see individuals and organisations taking the time and effort to look at how they can contribute, in whatever way. I would like people to get comfortable with being challenged and having difficult conversations about the things they take for granted that should be more widely available to everyone. I’d like access to be clear and truthful, and for us to be able to have empathetic and robust kōrero about what needs to change systemically and what can be done individually. I’d like access to be a line item in every funding application, and access consultants to be on retainer or a standard go-to for every venue and production. Do as little or as much as you can. Just do something.

For more information about First Draft, check out the event listing on our What’s On page. These readings will take place August 15-17 2025.

For more about The Magnificent Weirdos, visit their website.