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One of Teatro Ciego’s main goals is to not only provide employment for the visually impaired, but to strengthen their artistic skills for the job market.

I hold onto my friend Ceci’s shoulders as we walk into the pitch black theatre single file. I can’t see a thing – not even my hands. I start to panic. But someone gently guides me to my seat, and I know I’m okay. The sound of typewriters soon fills the room.

I’m at Teatro Ciego, or Blind Theatre, waiting anxiously for the play La Isla Desierta to begin. This theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina is the only one in the world to host performances in the dark. I don’t know what to expect.

I’m here because I’m curious to see how the cast made up of both blind and seeing actors can pull this off, and because I want to get out of my comfort zone. And I do. For the next two hours, my imagination runs wild as sounds and smells from the jungle to the sea envelop me.

Ceci and I leave the theatre in awe, convinced Teatro Ciego is an idea worth spreading. Find out why in our podcast here:

Idealist Podcast: Teatro Ciego (English)

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Co-producer Ceci Gil Mariño and I would especially like to thank Martín Celis, Terry Dennis, Craig Dennis and Jason Kirtland for lending us their voices; Janet Bollero, Rachel McRoberts, Deborah Brody, Emily Burnett, and Lindsay Rihala for their invaluable translation assistance; Pía Sicardi for her original music; Julia Smith and Hannah Kane for their editing prowess; Douglas Coulter for his mad production skills; and most importantly, the cast of Teatro Ciego for letting us shine a light on their world.