Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre show, ARCO, to help audiences understand autism

An award-winning show about life with autism is hitting the Bunbury stage and takes a heartfelt, first-hand look at the life and struggles of an autistic “gentleman” trying to make connect with the world around him.

ARCO is a “cheeky”, personal story of yearning and optimism lead by its autistic creator Adam Kelly and aims to disrupt your assumptions about what it means to be “neurotypical”.

“Autism itself is really difficult to explain. It’s not simply something that effects how I function; it is... how I am wired,” he said.

“Asking me how autism feels like is pretty much like asking a fish if it knows it’s in water.”

Kelly and his friend Finbar — a fish animated by Perth artist Ben Hollingsworth — dance, draw, fly and joke with audience to help them better understand what life is like from Kelly’s perspective.

“I guess that as I am autistic, but adapted slightly to the neurotypical world, metaphorically I am neither fully a fish — autistic — nor a land creature — neurotypical — but rather an amphibian,” he said.

Produced by the WA Youth Theatre Company and co-written and co-created by Adam Kelly and James Berlyn, with invaluable dramaturgy from Alex Desebrock, ARCO has been developed into two versions.

Version one of the performance is ARCO Jnr, aimed at children seven or over with version two entitled ARCO senior for audiences over the age of 15.

ARCO Jnr will play on September 8 and ARCO Snr will play on September 9 at Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre.