Radar: Unspoken, Yet Heard – A Story of Theatre, Love, and the Unseen

Unspoken, Yet Heard is a free event designed specifically for children and young people with additional support needs and their families, enabling them to be part of the Fringe.

As an interdisciplinary artist based in Edinburgh, I spend much of my time immersed in the arts: making work, studying contemporary art, writing reviews, and this year, supporting the Chinese Culture Week (CCW). The Fringe, for me, is more than just a celebration of performance. It’s a season of creativity, connection, and reflection; a time that invites me to question what art is for, who it includes, and how it can serve.

But I also live another life that doesn’t always fit neatly into the festival’s whirlwind energy: I’m a mother to a neurodivergent child with complex medical needs. These two roles, artist and parent carer, have often felt like separate worlds. Until this year, when they collided in the most unexpected and beautiful way.

It began during a casual conversation with Winnie Wen, founder of CCW. We spoke about the underrepresented voices in both art and society, particularly those of families with children who have additional support needs. I shared my desire to bridge the artistic with the personal, and she introduced me to a theatre company whose work does exactly that.

That’s how I first heard of Unspoken Theatre.

A theatre that listens without words

Founded by Xue Jia and Xiang Yandong (a.k.a. Big Elephant!), Unspoken Theatre (失语剧社) is a physical theatre based in Beijing whose practice defies easy categorisation. Their work is performance, yes, but also therapy, neuroscience, activism, and care.

Xue Jia is a physical performance artist, dance therapist, and director. Xiang Yandong is an interactive digital artist, behavioural analyst, and director. For almost 10 years, they have worked closely with over 200 children with additional needs, especially those on the autism spectrum, delivering more than a thousand hands-on sessions. Their multi-sensory therapy programme integrates movement, sensory interaction, and emotional expression, all grounded in both personal and scientific understanding of the body and mind.

Their work is deeply tender and grounded in lived experience. It’s art with purpose, and art that serves. And that’s the kind of work I am always eager to support and be part of.

They had originally hoped to bring a unique show to the Fringe this year: Tomorrow Is Another Day, a powerful mixed-media performance entirely performed by children with moderate to severe autism. Unfortunately, due to funding restrictions, that production couldn’t make the journey.

Instead, Unspoken Theatre arrived in Edinburgh with House of Mystery, a visually powerful yet intimate piece of physical theatre, selected to be part of CCW and presented over three short days (3rd–5th August) at King’s Hall. Though brief, its emotional resonance ran deep.

But Xue and Xiang didn’t stop there.

A gift of inclusion

Motivated by care and a deep sense of community, they offered to host something beyond their formal show: a free, autism-friendly interactive workshop for local children with additional support needs and their families.

On Thursday, 7th August at King’s Hall there will be a relaxed garden gathering, followed by a Dance Therapy Workshop where children are free to move, explore, and express themselves in their own ways, with no pressure to sit still or stay quiet. It’s not just a workshop. It’s a safe space. A celebration of difference. A moment where families like mine can feel part of the Fringe without needing to fight for access or understanding.

This experience is for parents longing to see their children experience the joy of performance in spaces that truly see and welcome them. That is exactly what Unspoken Theatre offers, not just through their art, but through their presence.

Art that holds space

In Mandarin, the word “失语” (shī yǔ), part of the theatre company’s name, literally means “lost speech,” or “Unspoken”. But Unspoken Theatre’s work isn’t about silence. It’s about presence. It’s about finding new ways of listening, of feeling, of witnessing, especially those whose voices often go unheard.

They remind me that the most transformative art isn’t always found on the main stage. Sometimes, it happens in a side room, or in a sunlit garden, or in the quiet joy of a child dancing to the rhythm of their own inner world.

As both an artist and a parent carer, I long for more moments like this, where inclusion isn’t an afterthought, but the starting point.

This event was initiated by kind-hearted people with no big plan or funding, just love, urgency, and a desire to make space. It came together quickly, but with warmth and care.

I sincerely hope it’s not the last time something like this finds a place at the Fringe. May this be the start of a new tradition, one rooted in empathy, expression, and equity.

🎉 Event details 

Unspoken, Yet Heard is a free event designed specifically for children and young people with additional support needs and their families.

📍 Venue: King’s Hall, 41a South Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9NZ
📅 Date: Thursday, 7th August
🕕 Time:

• 6:00 pm: Doors open
• 6:00–7:00 pm: Garden gathering with snacks and outdoor fun
• 7:00–8:00 pm: Dance Therapy Workshop (in the main church hall)

🎟️ Free entry

✨ We welcome children or young people to explore and express themselves freely.

Note for parents: As children are encouraged to move around the space, we kindly ask that parents stay with their child(ren) at all times and remain responsible for their safety and wellbeing.

Written by: Liwei Teng (@liweiteng_art)

Liwei Teng is an Edinburgh-based interdisciplinary artist whose practice explores the intersections of contemporary art, philosophy, neurology, and social issues. She is a passionate advocate for mothers, parent-carers, and underrepresented voices. In addition to her visual work, she writes poetry and literature in both Chinese and English. Writing reviews for Edinburgh Reviews is one of her favourite creative pastimes.