Professor Devon Healey Premieres Groundbreaking Work: Rainbow on Mars
We are proud to share that Dr. Devon Healey, Assistant Professor in Social Justice Education, premiered her original play Rainbow on Mars this past August at Ada Slaight Hall. Developed over five years with funding support from the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council of the Arts, the multidisciplinary work, in co-production with the National Ballet of Canada, Outside the March, and Peripheral Theatre blends theatre, ballet, and disability studies to explore blind perception and performance. Rainbow on Mars ran from August 9 to 20, 2025.
At the heart of the piece is Healey’s innovative Immersive Descriptive Audio (IDA)—a rich, poetic narration that serves as both an accessibility stagecraft and a central character. Far from a traditional audio description, IDA invites both blind and sighted audiences to connect with the emotional and sensory depth of performance through sound, language, and blindness.
Rainbow on Mars featured a cast of 19 performers with various expressions of Blindness and sight, including dancers of The National Ballet of Canada RBC Apprentice Programme. Featuring choreography by Robert Binet Rainbow on Mars received strong praise for its bold reimagining of accessibility, disability, and perception in the arts.
Read more about IDA in an article titled,
Congratulations to Professor Healey on this powerful and thought-provoking contribution to the field!
“Cٱǰ-ڲ⾱Բ”
—The Globe and Mail
“RAINBOW ON MARS reframes the concept of accommodating blindness by shifting focus away from one-to-one translation, and demonstrating the warmth of live storytelling.”
—Intermission Magazine
“RAINBOW ON MARS is one of those shows that I knew was going to stick with me even before intermission; there’s something about the care that went into its creation, the rawness of the story itself, and the awe-inspiring presentation that swept me off my feet. Thought provoking themes, poetic text, and an emotional ending will have you talking about this story long after you’ve left the theatre.”
—A View From the Box
“What emerges most strongly from RAINBOW ON MARS is a seamless blend of accessibility and artistry”
—Seeaya Arts
