About CEO – Dr Kari Seeley
- Board, Staff
Chief Executive Officer
FEARLESS. LIMITLESS. BOUNDLESS.
These three words define No Strings Theatre Of Disability’s unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation over our transformative 30-year journey. As CEO, I am privileged to lead South Australia’s premier disability theatre company as we continue the visionary legacy established by our late founder, Helen Flinter-Leach.
Helen’s determination to move beyond the limitations of traditional theatre—where talented performers living with disability were relegated to backstage roles—sparked a revolution. In 1993, she gathered like-minded artists to form No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability, premiering our first production Norwood at Work in 1994. From this excellent beginning, Helen worked tirelessly to establish a company that would challenge barriers and champion artistic excellence.
Today, we continue her mission by providing meaningful professional opportunities for performers living with disability to learn their craft, take center stage, and tell their stories in their own way. When we undertake large-scale productions like Sons & Mothers, I Forgot to Remember to Forget, My War, and HIGH, our performers are engaged at professional rates as the accomplished actors they are, supported in building sustainable careers in the arts.
We embrace the evolving conversation around disability identity and language, always guided by our performers’ own preferences—whether they identify as “people living with disability,” “disabled people,” or simply as professional actors. This respect for individual choice reflects our core commitment: we strive for and celebrate ability while never diminishing the real challenges and barriers that shape lived experience.
Our innovative spirit drives us to explore new artistic territories, from our groundbreaking online collaboration with Singapore artists during COVID that resulted in SAME-SAME, to our internationally acclaimed My Stories Matter film trilogy. We fearlessly engage with the arts through a disability lens, creating works that transcend traditional boundaries and transform perceptions.
As we build on three decades of artistic excellence, No Strings remains dedicated to our founding principle: creating professional theatre that recognizes ability, not disability, while fostering the next generation of fearless, limitless, boundless artists.