All In, the innovative new access scheme for creativity and culture in the UK and Ireland, is proud to announce the launch of its pilot programme in Leeds.
Leeds Heritage Theatres, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Leeds Playhouse, and Opera North will become the first organisations to test the scheme and its widespread potential for improving creative and cultural experiences for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people.
Opera North Touch Tour at Leeds Grand Theatre. Image by Tom Arber.
The four organisations represent a diverse range of artforms across theatre, museums, heritage, opera and art allowing the scheme to be tested across a range of different venues and creative outputs.
The pilot is expected to run for eight months through to summer 2025 and will take a collaborative and flexible approach with the participating organisations. It will provide crucial insights allowing further developments to be made before it rolls out across the creative and cultural sector.
The pilot includes testing of:
- The quality of accessibility standards for creative and cultural venues, including the built environment, digital communications, customer service, and commissions, events and programming.
- Support and skills development to help staff put these standards into practice.
- A digital system which allows access requirements to be shared smoothly and securely when booking tickets or attending events.
- Listings to help people find cultural and creative experiences that meet their access needs.
Developed by disabled people for disabled people, All In is committed to removing barriers to creativity and culture. The pilot is a significant milestone in this journey and will provide valuable insight in how the scheme can help our sector welcome more disabled people through their doors.
All In will announce the annual subscription rate in January, ahead of roll out across the UK and Ireland in the second half of 2025.
Darren Henley, Chief Executive, Arts Council England; Maureen Kennelly, Director, Arts Council Ireland; Roisín McDonough, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Northern Ireland; Dafydd Rhys, Chief Executive, Arts Council of Wales; and Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotland say: “It's great to get to this point in development after so much work, and get the real-world testing underway in Leeds and West Yorkshire. We're heartened by the enthusiasm Leeds Heritage Theatres, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Leeds Playhouse, and Opera North have shown, and excited by their passion to get involved and make changes within their organisations. We're one step closer to changing cultural experiences for disabled patrons in the UK and Ireland and look forward to the rollout of the scheme in 2025.”
Vicky Cheetham, CEO, Leeds Heritage Theatres, said: “Leeds Heritage Theatres is constantly striving to provide an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone to enjoy performances and films at our venues. We are thrilled to be taking part in All In as we want to remove as many barriers as we can to attending arts and culture events. We're interested in learning from our peers and are excited to work with ACE and colleagues at organisations across the city.”
Lizzy Wilson, Head of Audience Development at Leeds Museums & Galleries said: “Leeds Museums & Galleries are thrilled to take part in this significant national project. Audiences are at the heart of what we do across our eight venues, and it is extremely important that we make them accessible and open to all. We’re looking forward to implementing real change to both our online customer journey and in person experiences. Having the knowledge and expertise of this project group is really exciting and we look forward to getting started.”
Shawab Iqbal, Joint Chief Executive, Leeds Playhouse, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Arts Council England on developing the All In arts access scheme as a pilot venue. We warmly welcome ways in which as an industry we can work together to improve the experience of Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people when attending arts and cultural events in the UK. It is essential for us that as an arts organisation, a business, and a charity we strive to develop ways in which we can continually improve the experience of our audiences here at the Playhouse, making theatre accessible to all.”
Emily Simpson, Director of Audiences, Opera North said: "Opera North is delighted to be part of the All In pilot as we look to ensure that everyone attending our performances gets the best possible experience from the point of booking through to the visit itself.
"We strongly believe that the arts are for everyone which is why we have introduced more matinees, English subtitles at all operas, relaxed performances for people who prefer a less formal theatre environment, and sign-interpretation, audio description and touch tours on selected dates. By taking part in this pilot, we are looking forward to working collaboratively with other organisations, sharing data and insights to enhance this offer still further and to ensure that culture is genuinely open and welcoming to all."
Andrew Miller MBE, UK Arts Access Champion for All In said: “The pilot marks a vital milestone in the development of All In. Now, we get to put into practise the findings from all of our extensive research, the input from our advisory groups, and the ongoing work of our suppliers. We welcome the commitment from Leeds Heritage Theatres, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Leeds Playhouse, and Opera North to removing barriers for disabled audiences by trialling and testing All In with us. These organisations will bring a wealth of valuable insight and feedback, and we look forward to working alongside them in the coming months.”
UK Arts Minister, Sir Chris Bryant said: "Our mission is to make sure that the arts and culture are for everyone and schemes such as All In, will be integral to achieving this.
"I commend the work of the UK and Ireland arts councils, and the organisations involved in Leeds and West Yorkshire to remove barriers for disabled people. I look forward to the findings from the pilot being used to help people access high quality arts and culture."
Background
The pilot cohort comprises
- Leeds Playhouse
- Leeds Heritage Theatres (Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall, Hyde Park Picture House)
- Leeds Museums and Galleries (Abbey House Museum, Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds City Museum, Leeds Discovery Centre, Leeds Industrial Museum, Lotherton, Temple Newsam)
Opera North
All In is funded by Arts Council England, Arts Council Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, and supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
About All In
All In is the new access scheme designed to improve accessibility in creativity and culture for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people in the UK and Ireland.
Developed by disabled people for disabled people, we want to help creative and cultural organisations improve access, remove barriers, and welcome more people with access requirements through their doors.
At All In, we believe everyone should be able to enjoy the diverse range of creative and culture experiences the UK has to offer. We are a partnership between Arts Council England, Arts Council Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, and Creative Scotland.
We’re All In, and everyone’s welcome.
For further information visit: allin.online
About Leeds Heritage Theatres
Leeds Heritage Theatres is Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall, and Hyde Park Picture House. Our shared mission is to unite people, create extraordinary experiences, and foster a positive environment for entertainment and education.
Our three venues play a vital role in enriching the cultural landscape of Leeds and its surrounding areas, contributing artistically, educationally, and economically. Forming lasting connections and partnerships throughout our region, we are dedicated to making the arts accessible to everyone, believing passionately in their transformative potential. Our Learning Programme provides young people with opportunities to develop new skills and gain hands-on training experience using the rich resources of our heritage theatres. Be it through our school’s partnership programme (primary, secondary, and colleges), Youth Theatre, Leeds Actors in Training, or holiday workshops, we offer young people a chance to voice their experience about life in Leeds and invite a fresh creative response to the city’s artistic life.
We continuously evolve our historic venues, invest in our team, and expand our programming to offer the highest quality facilities and services. Despite challenges within our sector, we have made significant strides and remain committed to ongoing improvement. With ambitious plans for programming, education, and sustainability, we aim to be here for future generations just as we have been for past ones.
More information can be found at: https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/about-us/
About Leeds Museums & Galleries
Leeds Museums & Galleries are one of the largest local authority-run museum services in England, with one of the most significant multidisciplinary collections in the UK. Their 200-year history encompasses over 1.3 million objects, which are cared for by expert teams across eight historic venues. Leeds Museums & Galleries create unforgettable experiences by connecting people and places through objects and artworks. The collective of museums preserve the history of Leeds and connect the city to global stories, working with local communities to share stories from the past and present, to shape a better future for the people of Leeds and beyond. Our eight venues across the Leeds City Region are:
- Leeds Art Gallery
- Leeds City Museum
- Lotherton
- Temple Newsam
- Abbey House Museum
- Kirkstall Abbey
- Leeds Industrial Museum
- Leeds Discovery Centre
About Leeds Playhouse
Leeds Playhouse has been one of the UK’s leading producing theatres for 55 years. It is an award-winning theatre and a cultural hub, a place where people gather to tell and share stories and engage in world class theatre. It makes work which is pioneering and relevant, seeking out the best companies and artists to create inspirational theatre in the heart of Yorkshire.
Its warm welcome was recognised at the UK Theatre Awards. In 2022, Leeds Playhouse was named Most Welcoming Theatre, recognising its daily endeavors to make the building an inviting, engaging, creative, accessible and inclusive hub at the heart of the Leeds City Region. For the last three years, leading performers in Playhouse productions have been named Best Performer in a Musical and, in 2024, the Playhouse’s production of Oliver! was named Best Musical.
Alongside the work on its stages, the Playhouse works creatively with the people, artists and communities of Leeds through its innovative, sector-leading Playhouse Connect programme.
Focussing on two key areas – Learning & Skills and Creative Communities – Playhouse Connect engages with thousands of people in the region each year. As part of this work, its Artistic Development programme, Furnace, engages with theatre-makers, providing a creative space to refine their practice at all stages of their careers; it builds, develops and sustains projects to connect with refugee communities, young people and students, older people and people with learning disabilities; it hands over spaces to communities to use in ways they choose, from breakdancing to roller-skating, craft markets to tea parties, enlivening the building whilst fostering deeper relationships; and works in-residence around the city, connecting with people on their doorsteps.
As a registered charity, Leeds Playhouse relies on the support of valued partners to make great things happen. It is grateful for the continued support of Arts Council England, Leeds City Council, The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation and the many charitable trusts, business partners and individuals that continue to support the vital work of the theatre.
About Opera North
Opera North is a national opera company based in Leeds and a leading UK arts organisation. Rooted in the North of England, international in outlook, we believe opera, music and live performance is for everyone.
Our aim is to make bold, innovative, inspiring work and share it in new ways. Our award-winning productions tour to theatre stages and concert halls throughout the North and beyond. Alongside this, we curate an ambitious artistic programme in the Howard Assembly Room and a concert season with the full-time Orchestra of Opera North. Away from the stage, our Learning & Engagement team connects with communities and engages each generation with music, aiming to enhance the health and wellbeing of people in the communities where we work through arts participation and performance.
Opera North is grateful for the generous support of Arts Council England and Leeds City Council, sponsorship from the private sector, trusts and individuals, the Friends of Opera North, the Opera North Future Fund and the box office income from its audiences, which allows us to continue to mount our award-winning work.
Media contacts
Sarah Deen, Communications Officer