A woman from Cwmbran has been shortlisted for a national award after launching a cabaret show in London featuring performers with disabilities and neurodivergent artists.
Amy Knott, from Henllys, is nominated for the Social Impact Champion at the KLAT Awards 2025, run by Welsh creative publication Klat Mag, which celebrates emerging talent across Wales.
The 23-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, founded Breaking Barriers earlier this year to challenge the lack of disability representation in musical theatre.
In July, she staged a cabaret at The Other Palace studio in Victoria, London, with a cast made up entirely of disabled and neurodivergent performers.
“The show was created to shine a light on the talent of disabled and neurodivergent performers, that are so often underrepresented and overlooked within the theatre industry,” she said.
Amy’s decision to launch the project was sparked by a painful experience at a drama school audition.
“I was more or less told to go home before I’d finished the audition,” she told Cwmbran Life.
“My disability means the way I move my body may be a bit different. The experience left me feeling undervalued, overlooked and invisible.”
Congress Youth Theatre
A former member of Congress Youth Theatre, Amy attended St Alban RC High School in Pontypool.
She then studied in London at West End MT, a weekend training programme for young performers. Over the past two years, she has worked with West End professionals, including the director of Les Misérables, and took part in a masterclass with actor and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Layton Williams.
“I’ve got to meet so many disabled and neurodivergent creatives through this process with similar experiences to mine,” she said. “I want to improve the conversation around disability and the arts a lot more.”
Amy hopes to build a career in theatre and continue “making positive changes for people with disabilities and neurodivergent artists.”
The KLAT Award winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Mercure Cardiff Holland House Hotel on Saturday 1 November 2025.
Amy is already planning the next Breaking Barriers cabaret, which will return to the same London venue in April 2026.