Chameleon brings award-winning play to Martin Harris Centre Manchester

Salford autistic writer-director and UOM Alumna Jess Telling, will stage the final performance of her award winning play Chameleon at the University’s Martin Harris Centre on September 25^th 2026.

At its heart, dark comedy play Chameleon is a fearless exploration of life as a newly diagnosed autistic woman, based on Telling’s personal experiences.  Set against the backdrop of an emotionally abusive relationship, the performance uses the turbulent social scenarios and encounters of young adulthood, to illustrate the absurd joys and unanticipated challenges of autism as its heroine, (performed by autistic actress Hope Rose) questions the worth of losing her sense of self in her quest to “fit in”.

“I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not anymore.  I don’t even know who that someone I’m pretending to be is for.” Chameleon

Chameleon was written during Telling’s final year at the university, where she and her team first met and started their creative journey together.  Chameleon debuted at Ed Fringe’24 as one of the beneficiaries of the Keep It Fringe Fund.  The play subsequently transferred to The Glitch, London in 2025 as part of Vault Creative Arts’ inaugural season, supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

The play has since been incorporated into the UOM drama syllabus and a special performance will take place for new drama students on 24th September followed by a Q&A with all the cast.

A recipient of 4* reviews from EdFringeReview, Telling’s play was widely applauded for “delivering a heart wrenchingly honest and raw production imbued with humour” and she was then nominated for Neurodiverse Reviews’ Actually Autistic Excellence Award.   Following its London run lead actress Hope Rose was nominated for the Fringe Theatre Awards’, Lead Performance in a Play.

A lover of bold, impactful and insightful theatre, Telling is committed to challenging the typical narrative around autism with her honest, human approach and encouraging audiences to experience the world through a different lens.

Telling says “Chameleon is an ode to my teenage self.  I wrote it after my autism diagnosis as a reflection on the years I spent wondering if I was alone in how I felt.  Watching each performance was challenging but I was hopeful the production would resonate with our audience. I was buoyed by the response, not only from those who said they finally felt heard, but also from those who left reconsidering their understanding of autism.”

The company is committed in its ongoing efforts to make accessible theatre and together with celebrated access consultancy What Collective has developed a bespoke visual guide which helps disabled and neurodivergent audience members know what to expect when they attend the show and to feel accommodated and not marginalised.

“A dynamic, witty and thought-provoking production that is unafraid to pack a punch…The play conjures a theatrical miracle of empathy enabling us to experience how it really feels to feel different.”  Audience Review

Chameleon plays at Martin Harris Centre, Manchester 25 th September 2026. Tickets are available here.