Simon Startin is a visually impaired Actor, Playwright, Activist and the Artistic Director of Vital Xposure a disabled-lead touring theatre company promoting hidden voices with extraordinary stories to tell. 

Simon also made his Royal Shakespeare company debut earlier this year playing Stephano in their production of The Tempest which was recently reviewed by Vidar Hjardeng MBE for one of his regular RNIB Connect Radio audio described theatre reviews. 

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey recently caught up with Simon to firstly find out a bit more about Vital Xposure, the work that they put on and how Simon became  their Artistic Director. 

Toby then asked Simon about how much the atmosphere and surroundings of a theatre stage might affect him as an Actor, when walking across a stage for the first time such as his debut at the RSC where many famous Actors have performed on in the past. 

Simon then talked about his own playwriting and how accessible the craft of playwriting is for blind and partially sighted people as you only need a pen and paper or a computer to get started.  

Finally Toby and Simon discuss the current state of opportunities within theatre and the arts for blind and partially sighted people and how there needs to be more disabled people running theatre and arts organisations to make a real change in the sector for greater inclusion and equality  . 

To find out more about the work of Vital Xposure do visit their website - https://www.vitalxposure.co.uk

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