The recent debut for the musical adaptation of Paddington has generated countless amounts of interest across social media.
Based on the book series by Michael Bond, Paddington: The Musical debuted at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End on November 1st to wide acclaim. Images and videos of the on-stage suit portraying the Paddington bear have stunned viewers with its cuteness and craftsmanship.
That said, what tends to be overlooked are the actors portraying Paddington. While a whole team went into the creation of the stage puppet, James Hameed plays Paddington behind the scenes as an off-stage remote puppeteer, and Arti Shah plays the bear on-stage.
Arti Shah, who is a little person, represents a significant faction of disabled theater actors who are often underrated in the theater space. For years, due to genetic disabilities, actors with dwarfism have often been relegated to background characters or creatures.
While Paddington is a bear puppet, his stage presence can only be made with the actor who plays him on stage. Despite playing a huge role, the level of performance often gets overlooked due to the actors working beneath the mask.
Theater companies should promote actors and actresses like Arti Shah and their stellar work. Additionally, more work needs to be done to have actors and actresses with disabilities to be major roles in theater productions.
Like with Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones, having main or major characters with disabilities would inspire future actors to join the field and diversify the industry.
