Misinformation, Misattunement, and Autistic Theatre: Representation, Access, and Cultural Harm

This article explores how autistic people experience theatre, showing that exclusion often comes not from individuals but from the way theatre spaces are designed and understood. Using audience feedback from Chameleon (Telling, 2025), an autistic-led production, we look at how common ideas about autism shape both what audiences expect to see on stage and how autistic people are treated in the theatre. Misinformation sets expectations about how autistic people should look, behave, and communicate, and these expectations influence how autistic presence is interpreted. We show how casting autistic performers, designing sensory‑aware environments, and inviting ongoing audience feedback can challenge these assumptions. Many audience members described barriers such as heat, glare, noise, and seating, revealing how often autistic discomfort is blamed on the person rather than the environment. We argue that autistic‑led theatre offers a different model: one that treats access as part of the creative process and presents autistic experience without softening or translating it. In doing so, it encourages audiences to rethink their assumptions and recognise autistic ways of being as valid and meaningful.