What does accessibility look like in a theater? For this article, the author asked herself – and 10 Kyiv theaters, both large and small – can someone using a wheelchair or crutches, or someone with a hearing or vision impairment, go to the theater in Kyiv? Not every theater got back to her (which is understandable in the off-season), but here are some of the responses we received from those who did:

“Inclusivity in a theater is about creating a space where people feel like there are no barriers – neither physical, nor emotional” – Molodyi Teatr (Young Theater)

   

“It’s about creating conditions to fully and comfortably include everyone in the theater, starting from how the premises are designed to the accessibility of the services on offer” – Teatr na Pechersku (Pechersk Theater)

   

“It’s all about wanting to make [the theater] more comfortable. Marking the stairs with yellow tape isn’t about money or architecture – it’s about wanting to make people’s lives easier” –  Teatr na Podoli (Podil Theater)

All this sounds well and good, but how can these ideas be implemented in practice? Is there a difference between inclusivity, accessibility, and being barrier-free? When is a theater truly accessible? Volodymyr Vysotskyi, an expert on accessibility of the built environment and a consultant to the League of the Strong NGO, shared his thoughts with us for this article.

Lesia Ukrainka National Academic Drama Theater

What have you been able to do so far, and what’s still in the works?

The theater currently has an accessible entrance; the Main Stage and the New Stage are both also accessible. There are dedicated bathrooms for people with musculoskeletal disorders, and an administrator can always meet and accompany people with disabilities and limited mobility.

The theater is also hoping to modernize the premises and is currently working with a dedicated organization to create a plan that would make theater visits more possible for people with visual impairments. (This includes a schematic depiction of the foyer and the ground floor in the box office, tactile information signs, tactile indicators of the direction of foot traffic, and call buttons.)

The theater also plans to introduce special performances and otherwise create comfortable conditions for guests with visual and hearing impairments.

What are the biggest challenges you face in making the theater more inclusive?

Our biggest challenges are to create a comfortable space for everyone who comes to the theater, and to make our shows suitable for people with visual and hearing impairments (through audio commentary, audio description, and sign language interpretation).

We currently lack the technical support to achieve greater accessibility. But the main thing our theater – and most theaters – lacks is not just physical accessibility, but also creative accessibility, meaning conditions have to be created to make performances accessible to people with visual and hearing impairments and other types of needs.

What do you do if one of your guests is using a wheelchair or crutches?

This person should contact the administrator on duty (there is always one in the theater during the day and before the shows) ahead of time or when they arrive at the theater before the show. The administrator on duty will ensure that this person can get into the show comfortably and without encountering any barriers.

Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater

What have you been able to do so far, and what’s still in the works?

We are working with our partners in Sense Bank, Visa, and Dostupno.UA (Accessible.UA) to make our theater more accessible. For example, we are consulting our colleagues at Dostupno.UA about sensitive accessibility issues, since the changes we are going to implement extend beyond redesigning bathrooms and adding ramps. We are working on a whole host of measures designed to ensure physical accessibility for people with limited mobility, accommodate people with hearing and visual impairments, make our staff more informed when it comes to inclusion, and update ticket purchasing options (free seats will light up on the website).

When you buy a ticket, you will be given some useful information and the administrator’s phone number so you could get in touch and let them know if you require assistance when visiting the theater. A member of our staff will be able to meet you at the entrance ahead of the show and answer any questions or help otherwise. But you will also be able to get to your seat on your own; to this end, we’re redesigning the ramps and creating a more convenient navigation system inside the theater.

What are the biggest challenges you face in making the theater more inclusive?

Fortunately, we’ve not experienced difficulties when trying to implement inclusive policies in our theater. We understand the importance and urgency of this issue, and so do our colleagues and partners, which is why all of our ideas on how to make the space more accessible have been taken up with enthusiasm.

Kyiv Academic Drama Theater on Podil

What have you been able to do so far, and what’s still in the works?

→ We have a lift by which wheelchair users can access the theater foyer. The lift is finally working again after we renovated the main entrance to make it safer. We’ve had the lift for seven years, but we’ve only recently designed a simple set of instructions and signs to make it possible for someone in a wheelchair to use it entirely independently.

→ There is also an elevator in the theater. During the off-season, we have introduced new audio cues to make it easier to navigate it.

→ We are working to set up call buttons in the foyer and near the entrance to the main auditorium that theater visitors can use to call a member of our staff.

→ We’re updating the marking on the stairs: we’d like to find something more durable and tactile instead of the yellow tape.

→ We’re planning to put up Braille signs throughout the theater.

→ We previously rented equipment to make audio description of our performances possible, but unfortunately we can’t afford it now.

→ We’ve tested a subtitle system with volunteers from the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf, and we will now offer monthly performances with subtitles for deaf people.

What are the biggest challenges you face in making the theater more inclusive?

People say that sometimes it’s easier to start something from scratch than to redesign already existing institutions. That’s true, and that’s the advantage shopping malls, restaurants, and art spaces have over theaters and museums: they can take into account accessibility requirements and standards during the design stage.

The Theater on Podil’s new building was built with accessibility in mind, and that’s what sets us apart from many of our colleagues who are working in historic buildings.

The main challenge is that accessible spaces are financially unfeasible: theaters target average audience members, have to make enough money to survive, and so constantly have to balance their conscience, social responsibility, and survival. Even if that sounds depressing. The costs of redesign or additional equipment, which are much needed, threaten theaters’ financial survival. We’re not a for-profit organization, so we don’t have spare 500,000 hryvnias for audio description equipment.

Our team is extremely motivated [to make the theater more accessible], but motivation alone isn’t enough. That’s why making the theater more accessible is a very gradual process.

What do you do if one of your guests is using a wheelchair or crutches?

Signage, accessible bathrooms, a lift, and other architectural features will help someone who is using crutches or has visual impairments be more comfortable in the theater.

When it comes to wheelchair users or people on crutches who arrive at the theater in cars, unfortunately that’s where things get tougher. Andriivskyi Descent [where the theater is located] is a pedestrian street, so if a wheelchair user wants to get to the theater by car, we have to contact the Kyiv City State Administration and ask them to lower the bollards.

We also have to disassemble three seats in the first and second rows in order to make space for a wheelchair user. This takes time. We need our guests to let us know in advance if they’re using a wheelchair so we can do all that. It’s best to do it when buying the ticket. Once in the theater, they’ll be able to navigate largely independently.

If someone wants to see a subtitled performance, they also need to let us know in advance, because only one performance every month will have subtitles. We don’t have staff who would be able to subtitle any performance upon request: it’s not just about the subtitles, but also about live camera work. We just can’t afford to have someone like that on staff all the time.

When a wheelchair user is inside the theater, an administrator on duty will talk to them and ask whether they need help; if this person needs help, we will provide it. The administrator can also remain nearby to make sure they can answer any questions if needed.

Kyiv Academic Drama and Comedy Theater on the Left Bank

What have you been able to do so far, and what’s still in the works?

The theater has just received an expert assessment of its compliance with Ukraine’s State Building Code’s accessibility standards and has come up with an extensive (and expensive) plan to make the space barrier-free.

Achievements so far

→ Two parking spaces for people with disabilities are located in the parking lot and are marked accordingly.

→ There are ramps and handrails at the main entrance to the theater.

→ Stairs to the main stage entrance inside the theater have handrails.

→ Designated facilities for people with musculoskeletal disorders in the men’s and women’s restrooms.

Our main priority for next year is to add an elevator so that people with reduced mobility can access both the main and the smaller stages and an accessible restroom. We’ve already allocated budget funds for the elevator designs, and we’re currently in the talks with a financial institution regarding paying for its actual construction.

What are the biggest challenges you face in making the theater more inclusive?

The theater building is old, which is why it’s difficult to adapt it to the State Building Code requirements. We have to think about how to make everything right, comfortable, and barrier-free for our guests, but also about the financial and bureaucratic aspects of the redesign. Whenever something is particularly costly, bidding, tenders, and paperwork take a lot of time.

What do you do if one of your guests is using a wheelchair or crutches?

For now, a wheelchair user would have to let us know ahead of time they’d be coming, via social media, phone, or email – we’ll be waiting for them at the theater. Even if they don’t let us know in advance though and just show up for a performance, theater staff will be able to help them. They’ll get the wheelchair to the auditorium. Even if a wheelchair user has a mezzanine ticket, they’ll be offered a seat in the stalls; the first seats on the right and left sides of the first row can be removed to make room for a wheelchair. It’s easier to get to these seats, and the view of the stage is better.

Kyiv National Academic Molodyi Teatr (Young Theater)

What have you been able to do so far, and what’s still in the works?

The main entrance to the theater has buttons you can use to call theater staff; we also have a folding ramp. Our customer service staff have regular training on how to better accommodate people with disabilities. Every month, the theater welcomes guests with disabilities who are now our loyal customers.

This year we installed Braille signs around the main entrance and throughout the theater premises to make navigating it more convenient. We have equipment to help wheelchair users use the stairs and an accessible bathroom.

We also have ambitious plans for the future. We will build a lift to make sure all people with limited mobility can access the theater and will make the main entrance even more accessible to wheelchair users.

We are also researching different formats of support we can provide throughout performances – from sign language interpretation, to subtitling, audio description, and audio commentary – and we hope that in the future these might be available on a permanent basis. We’re also going to change the way the posters announcing our performances are displayed: they’ll be at an angle so that wheelchair users can better see them.

What are the biggest challenges you face in making the theater more inclusive?

The biggest challenge is a lack of comprehensive solutions when it comes to ensuring accessibility in theaters. We have to do a lot of research and consult NGOs, such as the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf, to make sure the space is truly barrier-free for everyone.

Another challenge is the fact that the building itself is completely unsuitable for people with limited mobility and we need additional funding to be able to comply with accessibility requirements.

What do you do if one of your guests is using a wheelchair or crutches?

Our staff are trained to assist those people if needed. Someone using a wheelchair or crutches would just have to press the staff call button or phone our customer service. We can help them move about the theater and give them exhaustive information about our performances, programming, and how to navigate the theater.

Kyiv National Academic Operetta Theater

What have you been able to do so far, and what’s still in the works?

The Kyiv National Academic Operetta Theater was the first Kyiv institution to put on performances with audio description for blind people. It’s a kind of voice-over that uses special devices that describe everything from set and decorations to actors’ clothes, movements, and facial expressions to people with visual impairments or blind people.

There are two accessible restrooms for people with disabilities or limited mobility, as well as staff call buttons at the main entrance to the theater and in the restrooms. There are also spaces for wheelchair users in the auditorium, and a special lift for wheelchairs.

We also have a support service for people with disabilities and people with limited mobility; it’s manned by staff on duty.

We are going to use state-of-the-art technology to adapt different performances for people with visual and hearing impairments in September. Guests will be able to use Subcatch and Earcatch apps on their phones to view shows. This project has been supported by a grant from the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.

What are the biggest challenges you face in making the theater more inclusive?

→ Lack of accessibility and inclusivity experts on staff in cultural institutions, which makes it impossible to implement accessibility policies on a permanent basis (these experts often volunteer their labor or positions for them are created only when grant funding becomes available).

→ Lack of demand from people who need accessibility services in cultural institutions.

→ Lack of knowledge among cultural institution staff about how to create accessibility.

What do you do if one of your guests is using a wheelchair or crutches?

Those guests usually let us know they will need help ahead of time. If they haven’t, we follow a general script: 1) Ask them if they need help, and what kind of help; 2) If the answer to the first question is yes, and the theater is able to offer the assistance needed, we do it.

Theater administrators usually open an alternative entrance with fewer or no steps. If needed, we use a special piece of equipment to lift or lower a wheelchair user in their wheelchair up or down the stairs.

Zoloti Vorota (Golden Gates) Kyiv Academic Theater

What have you been able to do so far, and what’s still in the works?

→ Theater administrators have taken sign language courses.

→ The theater is adapting its website so that people with visual impairments can use it and considering the possibility of subtitling its shows.

→ The main entrance will be refurbished ahead of the new season to ensure it’s comfortable for all guests.

What are the biggest challenges you face in making the theater more inclusive?

The theater is quite small and located underground. This allows our shows to continue uninterrupted when air-raid warnings are issued (the premises are also a bomb shelter), but on the other hand, it makes it more difficult for us to redesign the space to make room for accessibility adaptations. That’s why we’re always researching things that aren’t ramps, say,  but that can be as helpful for wheelchair users.

We are also constantly looking for additional funding to redesign certain parts of the theater to make them more accessible for people with disabilities. This isn’t as easy as some foundations advertise, not like ask and you shall receive. So far, none of our requests have been funded. But we’ll keep working on it.

What do you do if one of your guests is using a wheelchair or crutches?

If a person using a wheelchair or crutches comes to the theater, theater staff will help them access the auditorium. The auditorium itself is quite easy to reorganize, so we can always move the seats around to make room for one or two wheelchair users.

Kyiv Academic Theater on Pechersk

What have you been able to do so far, and what’s still in the works?

We have had several performances with audio description, thanks to Liubomyr Pokotylo from the Slovom agency.

Another one of our shows had sign language interpretation, with the help of interpreters from the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf. We had free seats for people with sight and hearing impairments at those shows.

Members of our staff who directly interact with our audiences – the senior administrator and the ticket office cashier – attended a Ukrainian sign language course organized by the Kyiv City State Administration’s Department of Culture and the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf.

We are hoping to make our theater welcoming and comfortable for everyone: to add signs to help with orientation and navigation in the foyer and the auditorium; to redesign the bathroom; and to make the main entrance accessible for people with limited mobility.

What are the biggest challenges you face in making the theater more inclusive?

Construction-related restrictions. We don’t own the building we’re in but are located on the ground floor of a residential building, and our premises are for the most part designed to be used by a small number of people: the auditorium itself, but also the foyer, the café, and the hallways. Wheelchair users or mothers with strollers will struggle to navigate these tight spaces when the theater is busy.

What do you do if one of your guests is using a wheelchair or crutches?

We don’t have a ramp or a lift yet, but there is a button to call a member of staff on the front of the building, by the main entrance. Staff can then help this person enter the theater building and find their way around it.

Volodymyr Vysotskyi

expert on accessibility of the built environment and a consultant to the League of the Strong NGO

   

Why it’s difficult to make theaters accessible (and why it’s important)

I think that theaters, museums, libraries, and cultural and architectural heritage facilities (castles and fortresses, for example) should be accessible to all. People have to be able to immerse themselves in those environments and learn about their history. This is impossible without physical accessibility. In order to touch the walls in Lubart’s Castle [in Lutsk, in the west of Ukraine], you first have to get there. Not to mention more philosophical things related to identity or generational heritage.

Many institutions, especially museums and theaters (as well as government offices and services), are located in buildings that are considered to be cultural and architectural monuments and have a protected status. But the law on the protection of cultural heritage doesn’t talk about ways to ensure accessibility of these institutions, even though it does mention accessibility three times. So the most that can be done is an accessible entrance. It’s much more difficult to change something inside those buildings, because the law considers any changes to the interior as restoration. You have to check separately in each instance: are these doors under protection? On the other hand, not all theaters are located in buildings that are protected, a lot of them were built in Soviet times or since the independence of Ukraine, so they’re not bound by those restrictions.

What inclusivity means for the theater

Being barrier-free, to me, is a philosophy; accessibility is a quality of a space; and inclusion is a process.

Being barrier-free. Broadly speaking, this is a worldview or a philosophy. The idea is that there are no barriers – or obstacles – to life, development, and self-fulfillment for anyone regardless of their health, income, preferences, religious beliefs, or ethnicity. The state and other decision-makers create a space that ensures equal opportunities for all. In a narrower sense, being barrier-free might also mean accessibility.

Accessibility. This is a more widespread concept. Spaces, goods, means of transport, or services can all be accessible, meaning that anyone could use them. (Historically, accessibility concerns have focused on people with disabilities, but in fact it concerns a much broader range of people.) When it comes to architecture, accessibility is about a lack of obstacles obstructing someone’s movement or their receiving of services or information. Accessibility is about concrete things. It can be measured and expressed numerically, and follows certain standards and criteria.

Inclusion. The process of including more and different people into public life. It covers a range of issues, from the physical accessibility of a space and how comfortable it is, to the diversity of content offered by an institution. Two different types of accessibility have to be achieved to make something inclusive, or, in other words, accessibility is just a component of inclusivity. Inclusion is about our ability to exercise our rights and freedoms. It’s not enough to say someone has a right to education: conditions have to be created to make it possible for that person to exercise their right to it. Every right comes with an obligation [to make its exercising possible]. When this works on a societal level, that society’s quality of life is greater.

For a theater, inclusivity means that anyone can access the cultural goods, services, and spaces that it offers.

This is, in part, about offering a diversity of formats, not only when it comes to performances, but also with regards to workshops, training programs, and other classes.

We have to gradually get to a point where we move away from calling things “inclusive”: theaters should not operate in a way that would prevent someone from enjoying the cultural goods or services they offer. Inclusivity as a criterion has to be so thoroughly integrated from the very beginning that we have no reason to talk about it, just like we don’t have to talk about our roads being made of asphalt.

What counts as an accessible theater

There’s the matter of a building’s physical accessibility: ramps, handrails, accessible toilets. But there’s also the matter of content being accessible, which might entail tactile displays in museums or sign language interpretation in theaters.

These are totally different issues that require different types of expertise. Physical accessibility is the responsibility of the building’s owner, whether that’s a private individual, a municipality, or a community of people. The accessibility of content is the responsibility of the theater or museum or artistic director, or the directors of various shows.

In terms of a basic set of criteria, how would I describe an accessible theater? It’s a theater anyone can enter (accessible entrance), and then use the coat check or the toilet, wash their hands with soap, see themselves in a mirror, and be comfortable and able to see the stage in the auditorium where the performance is taking place. People with sight or hearing impairments should have access to services that would make it possible for them to see or hear the performance. Anyone should be able to access the café and get something to eat or drink there. And anyone should be able to quickly access a safe place in an emergency, perhaps with the help of a dedicated staff member. Finally, people should be able to easily navigate the premises of the theater, to know where the coat check or the bathroom is. If it’s their first time visiting that particular theater, there has to be clear signage indicating what’s where.

This isn’t a short list, but it’s still quite limited. For example, there could be a separate accessible bathroom. There are also different ways to make the stage visible for, say, wheelchair users. There’s lots of room for maneuvering, but overall, the idea of accessibility is about making sure every person using the space is well-informed, safe, and able to navigate the space independently as much as possible.

Of course, accessibility can always be improved. There are basic things, and there are additions that might not be seen as compulsory. For example, a theater can offer tactile behind the scenes tours for people who cannot see or organize what’s sometimes called “relaxed performances,” which take place with the lights on and where audience members are allowed to move around, to leave and re-enter the auditorium. Such performances are great for people on the autistic spectrum.

So far, we’ve talked about accessibility from the perspective of an audience member. But can actors access the stage or the dressing room in a wheelchair? This is also about accessibility.

Ideally, we shouldn’t designate different types of accessibility as more or less important. But for now, we have to decide what our priorities are. This is just where theater accessibility is at the moment. When our society reaches a point that there are accessible employment opportunities not just for actors, but also for sales assistants or drivers, we will have reached our destination. Anyone will be able to fulfill their professional aspirations in a society like that.

Accessibility monitoring in Ukrainian theaters

There is no monitoring on a systemic level, though sometimes theaters might get inspected as part of wider accessibility audits mandated by the Ukrainian government.

There is no overarching inclusivity agenda either in Kyiv or in Ukraine as a whole, but the Ministry of Culture is working to create an accessibility strategy. Individual theaters may take it upon themselves to improve their accessibility; a group of museums and theaters, for example, has recently investigated accessibility across their premises.

Which experts can theaters consult in an effort to become more accessible?

Anyone should have a grasp of basic accessibility standards, just like anyone should in theory be able to understand legal norms, but not everyone is a lawyer or an accessibility expert. Specialist training courses on accessibility have started popping up in Ukrainian higher education institutions over the last year or so, mostly these are extracurricular classes.

There’s also the question of how to figure out if someone really is an accessibility expert, and how to find those experts. These are people who have a reputation and have been recommended as experts in their field; they should also have some kind of proof that they’ve been trained in this (or extensive experience). Not everyone calling themselves an expert actually is one. Not all activists or people with disabilities are accessibility experts. Wheelchair users and people with visual or hearing impairments all have different concerns. Experts base their recommendations on objective assessments from a wide range of sources. When it comes to accessibility, it’s always best to consult two or three different people.

You can get accessibility experts involved at different stages of the process. For example, you might have already chosen a solution and want someone to test-drive it. But you definitely have to get an expert involved at some point, otherwise there’s a danger of wasting money on what you think is a barrier-free solution, but in fact only creates additional obstacles for some people.

For example, if a ramp’s at a wrong angle, or if handrails in a bathroom make no sense for a wheelchair user. Or if you put yellow tactile tape in the hallways and it is constantly getting unstuck and creating a tripping hazard – when a wall and a cane would have been sufficient for someone with a visual impairment to navigate by. Or Braille signs that are printed without relief or dimension. Or a lift that you can’t exit because there is a wall in front of the platform.

This happens when we interpret accessibility standards literally, without taking into account how a particular solution would work in a given space or context.

Why is it that when we’re renovating our own homes, we think about how we’re going to use the space? That’s just common sense.

Accessibility is also about aesthetics. We have to work towards integrating accessibility solutions into exterior and interior design and were part of the buildings’ invisible metaphysics. Otherwise, museums and other cultural institutions risk turning into obstacle courses for people with visual impairments, or into rehabilitation centers. There are different ways to make spaces accessible, and we can be creative with it.

Anyone can make mistakes. But people here are so afraid of making a mistake that they decide it’s better not to do anything at all. Or they’re so afraid to admit that there are gaps in their knowledge that they don’t ask experts for help. Head architects and heads of departments might not know that much about accessibility, and that’s okay. They have to study and improve their knowledge and skills, that’s part of the process. Only someone who doesn’t do anything doesn’t make mistakes. Still, it’s better to learn from someone else’s mistakes.

Barrier-free standards are yet to be refined and streamlined, but theater workers have to look for opportunities [to make their theaters more accessible], through partnerships, or through consulting with their colleagues abroad about how it’s done there. They have to find a balance between competence, other people’s positive experiences, and their own understanding.