Guest Blog: Deaf Actress and BSL Signer Jennifer Wilson Talks THISBE

"What happened in the woods?"

Imaginative show Thisbe, written by Sam Sutherland, explores the aftermath of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Do Helena and Demetrius live happily ever after, or will there be repercussions following the fairies' mischief?

I am a profoundly deaf actress and BSL signer, and while at university, I wrote a dissertation entitled 'What Style of Theatre is Most Accessible to Deaf People?'. I discovered that there are many different ways to ensure that deaf people can enjoy the theatre along with their hearing peers, and it is always open to experimentation.

Growing up, I have always been interested in theatre and performing, but the lack of accessible shows has meant that I haven't been able to participate either in performing in or watching shows as much as I would have liked. This has made me even more determined to push society to make theatre more accessible to deaf/hearing-integrated audiences.

Sam and I met on another job at a different theatre - she approached me and asked me to do the BSL for an accessible show at the Waterloo Vaults in March 2016. I was sent the script, and, being a fan of performing and translating Shakespeare's language into BSL, I was thrilled.

I only did the BSL for one of six shows at the vaults, but I found it a captivating experience. I took this show as an opportunity to be creative with the use of BSL in the theatre, but I knew there was always room for further experimentation and improvement.

I was approached to do the BSL for Thisbe again for the regional tour, but this time I would be doing every show and further integrated into the action, with a character of my own. The director, Bobby Zuric, has been extensively researching deaf/hearing accessible theatre, and we collaborated together to create something different for all audiences.

Initially, we held an R&D workshop, where I ran a session with the cast and crew. They explored telling well-known stories using physical elements. This helped us explore how we could make a story clear to an audience without using spoken language, which would be beneficial not just to deaf people, but also hearing people.

The rehearsal process so far has been fantastic. The rest of the cast and the crew have been fascinated about the use of BSL and are very enthusiastic about working with me, both as a performer and BSL signer, to create something different and amazing.

I am very excited to see how we can develop BSL further during the final few days of rehearsals. And I am thrilled to be part of such a fantastic company that works so well together, and is striving to create a piece of theatre for deaf and hearing people to enjoy together.

Thisbe begins a national tour at Theatre Royal Stratford East on 21 February. Full dates and venues at www.doorajartheatre.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.