Neurodivergent Experience Advisory
Advisory support for producers and venues shaping how performances and live environments are experienced by neurodivergent audiences.
Guest Sense provides advisory support to help producers and venues understand how performances and surrounding environments are received by neurodivergent audiences in real-world live settings.
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This work focuses on identifying sensory and cognitive friction within performances and across audience journeys, and supporting clearer, calmer experiences, without producing events, directing creative work, or altering artistic intent.
Who This Advisory Work Is For
This advisory work is designed for organisations creating live, in-person experiences where audience comfort, clarity, and engagement matter.
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Producers and creative teams
Exploring how performances are structured, paced, and received by neurodivergent audiences. -
Venues and front-of-house teams
Supporting calmer audience journeys across arrival, waiting, entry, intervals, and exits. -
Festivals and multi-space events
Managing sensory load, transitions, and audience flow across complex environments. -
Cultural organisations and attractions
Where performance, interpretation, and visitor experience intersect.
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This work is advisory-only and collaborative, respecting creative ownership while supporting better audience experience conditions.
What the Advisory Work Covers
Understanding Neurodivergent Audiences
A practical understanding of how autistic people, ADHD audiences, and those with sensory sensitivities experience live performances and environments, particularly where uncertainty, intensity, or overload occur.
Creative Structure & Audience Processing
Exploring how creative structure, pacing, transitions, and intensity are received by neurodivergent audiences.
This includes:
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rhythm and flow within performances
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transitions between moments or scenes
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anticipation and expectation-setting
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points of cognitive overload or disengagement
Recognising Sensory and Cognitive Friction
Identifying where sound, lighting, crowding, information density, or environmental pressure may create unnecessary strain for neurodivergent audiences.
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This work focuses on awareness and adjustment, not restriction or dilution of creative work.
Calm Interaction & Audience Reassurance
Looking at how audience-facing moments, before, during, and after performances, support or hinder reassurance and regulation.
This includes:
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clarity of information
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staff interactions
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moments of waiting or uncertainty
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exit and decompression experiences
Practical Improvement Guidance
Translating observations into clear, achievable recommendations that support calmer, clearer audience experiences, without moving into production, delivery, or creative direction.
How Advisory Support Is Delivered
Guest Sense advisory support is designed to fit around creative and operational realities, offering flexible ways to explore experience conditions without disrupting delivery.
Live / Virtual Advisory Sessions
Focused advisory sessions with producers, creative teams, or venue leads to explore how performances and environments are experienced by neurodivergent audiences.
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Suitable for:
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early-stage discussion
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programme reviews
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post-performance reflection
Review & Observation Sessions
​Observation-led reviews of performances, rehearsals, or live environments, identifying sensory and cognitive friction points across the audience experience.
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Suitable for:
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venues
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touring work
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festivals and multi-space events
Leadership & Team Sessions
​Advisory discussions with leadership or senior teams, helping align creative ambition with audience experience clarity and neurodivergent inclusion.
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What Teams Gain From Advisory Support
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Clearer understanding of how work is received by neurodivergent audiences
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Greater confidence discussing sensory and cognitive experience factors
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Reduced audience friction and uncertainty
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Stronger alignment between creative intent and audience experience
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Calmer, more navigable live environments