Following the success of performances of the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of The Reason I Jump at Glasgow’s North Kelvin Meadow and Children’s Wood last summer, a free app for all ages, based on the production has been launched.

The free app offers an augmented reality experience for visitors to the North Kelvin Meadow and Children’s Wood who will be able to enjoy aspects of the The Reason I Jump through a specially developed digital experience, walking through the maze in search of labyrinthine marker-points. Once located – and viewed through the app – the marker points transform the surrounding space, filling it with sights and sounds. App Users will experience pop-up digital performances from the show, as well as music, stories and creative expressions gathered through a series of workshops with local young people on the autistic spectrum from High Park Communications Unit and Abercorn School.

This App launch celebrates the ongoing partnership between the National Theatre of Scotland and the National Autistic Society Scotland (NAS), launched in 2018 to open up theatre-making and performances to neurodiverse audiences and artists. Every National Theatre of Scotland show in 2019 is be autism friendly, with visual guides available for all productions/venues and where possible the provision of a break out space. There is also an ongoing programme of relaxed performances and training for venues and companies across the year.

Nick Ward, director of The National Autistic Society Scotland, said: “The National Autistic Society Scotland is proud to work in partnership with The National Theatre of Scotland to make productions that take place across the country more autism friendly.

“The Reason I Jump was a really special performance and I am so pleased that this app will give new audiences the opportunity to hear these beautiful stories and think differently about autism.”

The app is available to download for free for Android and Apple devices and is downloadable from. iTunes and the Google Play Store.

For those that wish to use the App out with the meadow, there are downloadable markers available from here.

The Reason I Jump, based on the book by Naoki Higashida, translated by David Mitchell and Keiko Yoshida was a production conceived and directed by Graham Eatough and designed by Observatorium. It was an outdoor performance experienced within a maze and featuring a labyrinth created by the local community. The production was created with, and performed by, a group of Scottish artists with autism and was presented to critical acclaim in June 2018.

A short documentary about the creation of The Reason I Jump production can be viewed below.