Testimonies of founding trustees

Peter Pullan

I have been severely deaf since having measles when I was five. I find it totally frustrating to live in the greatest city in the world for theatre but to be completely unable to follow the spoken or sung word. It is incredibly annoying to me that my access to the theatre is restricted to sign language interpretation which I do not follow, or loop or infrared sound enhancement systems which can help a little by increasing volume but still leave me struggling to understand.

It is common for opera and plays in foreign languages to have surtitles in English so that hearing people can understand them. Imagine if for an opera or play in English the audience is made up of people like me. Don't you think that surtitles in English would be helpful? It's no good telling me that I should read the play beforehand. Would you seriously want to read the story of The Mousetrap and then see the play? We all know that Madame Butterfly dies at the end of the opera. It's how she gets to that point that makes the ending so powerful. Theatre is about being involved in the development of the characters and being emotionally and intellectually attached. I felt deprived of this great experience until STAGETEXT came along. Now I have seen so much theatre in the past few years; some productions so powerful they touch your life, others perhaps best forgotten. It's all about equality. It means I feel just the same as anyone else who goes to the theatre.

Geoff Brown

Before I became deaf, virtually overnight at the age of seventeen, I was a regular theatregoer. My mother and I frequently visited one or other of the Liverpool theatres mostly for musicals and Shakespeare. I came to love the theatre and felt the loss of access very deeply indeed.

Because I grew up in a hearing world I knew nobody who used sign language and hearing aids were no use to me. So even with hearing aid loops and sign language interpreters I was still cut off from the theatre. Over the years, I tried several ways of overcoming this, such as reading the script in advance, but none of them is really satisfactory. Now that captioned performances are increasingly available, that sense of frustration I used to feel because I was not able to access the theatre with my family and friends is becoming a thing of the past.

Merfyn Williams

I was born profoundly deaf and was educated to speak but I have a deaf speech. This confuses a lot of hearing people who think that a profoundly deaf person would not be able to speak but only sign. I am bilingual and sign in Sign Supported English  (SSE). The issue of full access in theatres still leaves a lot to be desired. With captioning, I can access a play in the English language. This gives me a personal growth and development, empowered and not patronised.

I feel it is important for ALL people working in the theatre to gain better awareness and understanding of disability. Everyone should understand that disability is a normal part of human experience and exercise zero tolerance with those who seek to marginalise disabled people. I am proud that STAGETEXT has been able to work with arts organisations to push the boundaries, with the result that disabled people feel included in society. More needs to be done, but good practice that results in greater customer satisfaction is the key to the growth and maintenance of new audiences.