Autistic Actress Brings ‘Authenticity’ To New Role

An autistic actress starring in a new musical says she is proud to represent the autism community and educate others on the disability.

Katie Cailean was diagnosed with autism as a teenager and says she is drawing on her own lived experience to bring authenticity to the role.

Katie is making her professional theatre debut in the musical Indigo at the Curve Theatre in Leicester.

She plays Emma, a non-speaking autistic teenager with synaesthesia – a neurological condition found to enhance memory and learning – who has to adjust to a new family set-up.

Originally from Glasgow, Katie graduated from The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in 2023.

“It feels really nice to represent a group of people who aren’t often represented authentically in the theatre,” she says of her role in Indigo. “It’s really cool.”

Indigo shares the story of three generations of women all from the same family who come together after the grandmother Elaine is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and moves back into the family home with daughter Beverly and granddaughter Emma.

Katie adds that visitors come to see the show and each have their own personal individual connection to the story.

“Some people say they’re coming into it with one particular angle, maybe with a family member who is dealing with Alzheimer’s, or they might know someone who is autistic or perhaps don’t know about autism.

“People are coming to it and learning something new from this story, which is important.”

Scott Evan Davis wrote the songs in the musical and says he does not want the full focus to be on Katie’s character but how she uses her disability to educate others.

“I want this to be a story about a family, healing, connections – with a character who happens to be autistic.

“Emma is fine who she is, and everybody else just needs to get on the same page. I always say it’s about a story of a girl who has a hard time communicating, but she teaches others how to. That’s the kind of story I wanted to tell.”