No Fairytale takes us inside an opera rehearsal room where an old story collides with a new understanding of blindness.
Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta tells of a blind princess whose story ends with her sight restored. For director Kat, it is an opera she wants to bring to contemporary audiences. But when blind co-creator Zel joins the process, the production becomes something more complicated. “Everybody – except Iolanta – is telling the story of Iolanta,” she observes.
Then a plague begins closing in. Performers disappear, an understudy is thrown into the role days before opening, and the company wonders who will be next.
Meanwhile, the biggest question remains unresolved: what should happen to Iolanta? And will the audience buy it?
As the curtain rises, the answer is no longer simply a director’s decision. The story belongs to the people who have lived closest to it.
Using exclusive access with the West Australian Opera, ‘No Fairytale’ uses observational filming, on the run interviews and retrospective reflections with cast and crew, to explore what’s stopping the entertainment industry to becoming more inclusive and accessible to creators with disability.
Zel Iscel, born blind, migrated to Australia from Turkey aged six. Graduating in Politics and Government in 2003, she delved into disability advocacy. She designed training to tackle family violence in marginalized communities for Women’s Health & Family Service. She has amplified marginalized voices through her role at the National Ethnic Disability Alliance and as a radio presenter and producer. She lived in London for 2 years where she was introduced to audio described theatre and now consults on it. Co-adapting “Iolante” for WA Opera, she pioneered its portrayal of blindness. Zel chairs Blind Citizens WA, serves on the DADAA Board, and is a director for Rights & Inclusion Australia. Through her consultancy “Inclusive World,” she offers disability awareness training, event consultation, HR coaching on disability employment, and website accessibility testing. With skills in public speaking and project management, Zel is primed to challenge misconceptions about inclusion in the arts.
