An Isle of Wight actor is acclaimed for highlighting issues around autism

Isle of Wight actor Anna Constable is looking back at 2024 as a year when she was acclaimed for her role in a ground-breaking play exploring masking, autism and mental health issues.

She performed at The Lowry in Salford in A Small Enclosed Room with Alfie Murphy. The play was created by Cian Binchy, a neurodivergent artist who is passionate about raising awareness of people with autism and learning disabilities.

Written in a dark, comic style, the Access All Areas production examines how autistic people can struggle with their identity and how some suppress themselves and their behaviours to fit into a neurotypical society – in a process known as masking.

Anna took the role of a ghostwriter, narrating lead character Alfie’s struggles with his identity and bringing humour to the complex subject. Her final monologue attracted praise from reviewers for its strong educational message on the realities of masking.

“It was an amazing experience to travel to Manchester and perform at The Lowry,” says Anna. “As well as performing, I also worked with Cian to develop ideas for the show.”

Nick Llewellyn, Artistic Director at Access All Areas, says: “Collaborating with Anna was hugely exciting. We’re incredibly proud of her progress from our Performance Making Diploma at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and she made a real impact with audiences at The Lowry. We can’t wait to share her work with more audiences next year.”

Wightlink has supported Anna with assisted travel since she began training at London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2022 with ambitions to become a professional actor. The ferry company continues to support her so that she can progress her acting career and champion the work of learning-disabled and autistic artists.

Sam Woodman, Wightlink Partnerships Marketing Manager, says: “We are so proud to see Anna’s acting career take off, she is so talented and we know she will go far while flying the flag for inclusivity and accessibility.”

Picture captions: Anna and Cian  – please credit Tracey Gibbs

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