Always on
This project successfully funded on 28th August 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
This project successfully funded on 28th August 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Help Box of Tricks make every performance of a major UK tour accessible to blind and visually-impaired audiences
Imagine arriving at the theatre knowing that tonight's performance wasn't really made for you.
For thousands of blind and visually-impaired theatre lovers, that's still the reality.
This autumn, Box of Tricks wants to change that.
With your help, every performance of our new UK tour How Soon is Now? - an electric story of female friendship and empowerment, driven by a live soundtrack of iconic indie classics - will include creatively-integrated audio description, so blind audiences can experience the production in the way it was always intended.
Thanks to match-funding, every donation will be DOUBLED - which means twice the impact!
Audio description is a live narration delivered through headphones that describes visual moments, movement, body language and staging during natural pauses in the dialogue for those with sight impairment.
But working with Hear the Picture, we'll go further and create innovative character-led audio description that enriches the storytelling, creatively opening up new ways of experiencing the production. A character from the world of the play will be in your ear not only supporting visual storytelling but bringing the story to life.
As we discovered on Danesha, creative audio description can become "a whole other theatrical language" that not only increases access, but deepens audience engagement.
“One of the best evenings at the theatre since I lost my sight” - Audience member on Danesha (2023 tour)
One of our biggest ambitions for our tour is to make every single performance accessible to blind and visually-impaired audiences through creatively-integrated audio description.
“We are delighted that a company like Box of Tricks is showing such a commitment to blind audiences. The show really is going to be a delight to listen to whether you can see or not.” – Ben Wilson, Hear the Picture
Touring accessible theatre at this scale comes with significant additional costs. Public funding from Arts Council England helps, but it doesn't cover everything. Your support will help us to:
This crowdfunder is a vital part of making that vision a reality. By backing the campaign, you're helping us ensure that accessibility isn't a one-off event or a limited provision - it's built into the heart of the tour, wherever it travels. Together, we can make HOW SOON IS NOW? accessible, ambitious and available to audiences across the UK.
What your support will make possible
✓ Specialist audio description writers
✓ Recording and editing
✓ Headsets and technical equipment
✓ Pre-show touch tours exploring the set and props
✓ Access support across every venue
✓ Technicians
✓ Maintenance across 11 venues
✓ Accessibility consultants
If we hit our stretch target of £11,000, we will:
Every pound raised helps ensure that accessibility is not an add-on, but an integral part of the artistic experience — making theatre richer, more inclusive and available to more people across the country.
How you can help (even if you can’t donate)
If you can’t donate right now, you can still make a huge difference by:
Accessibility should not be limited to a handful of performances.
With your support, every performance of How Soon is Now? can be open to blind and visually-impaired audiences across the UK.
Donate today and, thanks to match funding, double your impact.
Why Box of Tricks?
How Soon is Now? is presented by Box of Tricks, the Manchester-based theatre company dedicated to championing new work, bringing original voices to theatres nationwide and staging stories that resonate, inspire and entertain. Productions include Narvik (UK Theatre Award for Best New Play), SparkPlug (Sky Arts broadcast) and The Last Quiz Night on Earth (Guardian Best of Culture 2020). The production is the company's most ambitious project to date as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made