UNIVERSITY of York students from the Department of Theatre, Film and Television are working in rep to produce two shows this week, Zinnie Harris's The Wheel and David Greig's The Cosmonaut's Last Message To The Woman He Once Loved In The Former Soviet Union.

The Wheel follows Beatriz as she undertakes an unimaginable journey to lead a young child back to her father. The ambitious production explores how war, violence and migration affects individuals, how it can change a person’s very nature and damage the crucial development years of a child.

The Cosmonaut's Last Message follows individuals stuck in solitary orbit, without communication, with only a strand of hope propelling them forward. Greig's play takes a stance towards globalisation, provoking relevant questions regarding our society and the means by which we communicate.

The Wheel can be seen tomorrow and on Friday at 7.30pm and on Saturday at 2.30pm; the second play on Thursday and on Saturday at 7.30pm. The Saturday shows will be accessible via audio-description and a BSL interpreter.

"We're pleased that, for the first time, we're offering assisted performances for these shows," says Dr Tom Cantrell, head of theatre. "Students have been working hard over the past seven weeks to create truly exciting and striving productions, securing accessible performances so that the hard work and inspiring performances can be enjoyed by all members of the York community."

The notion to pursue an audio-describer and BSL interpreter arose from co-producer Laura Insley. "Laura is hard-of-hearing, therefore realising first hand the need to make our performances reach out and cater for all the needs of our audience," says Tom. "Speaking of her motivation to see this be a success. Laura says ‘all art, theatre or otherwise, should be made accessible to all members of society regardless of their ability'."