It’s a big decision to take a show up to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Astoundingly high costs face poor theatre makers, but the exciting melting pot of talent and ideas from across the world makes it irresistible. Over here at Hot Coals Theatre the opportunity that lies hidden in the bustling streets of Edinburgh in the month of August overtook any of our fears, but we wanted to create a piece that would push the boundaries of “inclusive theatre”. With the high costs and quick changeover times we find that accessibility measures are often pushed aside at the Fringe, giving us an extra push into creating a Deaf accessible theatre show.
I myself am deaf. I lost my hearing at age 14, and as an adult have become more and more interested in making accessible work. Our first show, Storm in a Teacup, started out with very little spoken word, just a little bit of voice over which one of the characters onstage “hears” on the phone. We quickly realised it wouldn’t take much to make the show completely accessible to a Deaf audience, so decided to incorporate BSL.
We noticed how when more traditional text lead pieces add BSL interpreting as an afterthought, the audience is split, meaning some are watching the action on stage and some are watching the interpreter. We wanted to challenge this and so had our BSL actress coming on in character and taking the focus, making the piece feel more united.
When myself and Jo Sargeant (the other core member of Hot Coals) set about making our new show we decided to dispense with spoken word altogether and instead tell our story through physical theatre and clowning. Our aim is that no one feels excluded and that every audience member is receiving the story in the same visual language.
By not using spoken word we have not only managed to create work for those who are deaf but have also created an inclusive piece of theatre that is not blocked by language barriers. The show can be toured anywhere in the world and still remain enjoyable and moving to anyone that watches it.
Accessible theatre still has a long way to go and we are an example of just one way of making accessible work. We want to continue the battle of making theatre inclusive and in the future aim to make our production even more accessible, including having “relaxed” performances.
Our show, Finders Keepers, is a beautiful, comedic story told using physical comedy, puppetry, and music. We invite you into the strange world of two tramps living on a junk yard whose lives are turned upside down when they discover a tiny new born baby abandoned amongst the rubble. Come and experience a piece of theatre designed to be entertaining for all!
Finders Keepers is @ ZOO from Fri 5 – Sat 27 Aug @ 11:45
[The mixed use of small “d” and capital “D” for deaf might look like an editing error, but read here for an explanation. – Ed.]