A performing arts group for young people with disabilities is bringing some Christmas cheer with the release of their comedy sitcom pilot.
The show People Like Us has released an episode centred on the holiday pastime of Secret Santa, starring performers from the Inclusive Performance Academy of Canterbury. It recently had its premiere at a movie theatre.
Co-writer and director Jasper Sutcliffe told 1News the show "isn't about disability but it's not invisible either".
"Our aim was to make something funny, something people would enjoy, but also something that stays true to the world of disability. It doesn't feel inauthentic."
Fiona McKenzie, who also co-wrote and directed the episode, said people with disabilities are often invited to be in the audience but "very rarely asked to be the ones putting on the show".
"They've got a lot of really strong tastes and opinions about comedy as comedy's a very popular genre. So yeah, it was surprisingly easy to put together a story with everybody's ideas and make it happen."
Actor Angus Gordon said while he was "used to being on stage", he’d "never been a star of a TV show before".
Sutcliffe said the characters are "heavily based on" the performers' real-life personalities.
"Everyone's just playing a more exaggerated version of themselves so that that's made the characters feel a lot more unique, vibrant, interesting and funny."
The young performers hope there’ll be more episodes to come.
"You should definitely give it a shot. It is really good," Gordon said.
"I am sure you'll have a fun time with it and make sure you like and share so we can get more episodes."
People Like Us' pilot episode Secret Santa is streaming now on YouTube.
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