Captioning Awareness Week 2025 has come and gone, and what a fantastic week it was! We reflected on 25 years of captions and live subtitles in arts and culture while looking ahead to an exciting future with the launch of our new theatre captioning software, Stagetext+.
The 25-Day Countdown
We kicked off 25 days before Captioning Awareness Week with our countdown to our 25th birthday. Each day brought something different, such as your stories, venue highlights, what we do, and showing how captions have changed lives over the years.
Throughout the countdown, we shared Stagetext’s journey from our first captioned performance of The Duchess of Malfi at the Barbican in November 2000 to today, where we caption and live subtitle more than 1,000 events every year. That’s roughly 3 captioned or live subtitled events happening somewhere in the UK every single day!
Unveiling Sajida Asif’s Artwork 
Sajida Asif’s commissioned artwork made its debut at our Colchester and London celebrations. Hearing Sajida speak about her lived experience of deafness and navigating the arts world added real depth to the unveiling, and the response has been wonderful.
This is just the beginning. Follow along as we showcase this stunning piece throughout our 25th anniversary year. Watch this space for exciting updates coming very soon!
Celebrating with National Theatre At Home
We were really excited to work with National Theatre At Home during Captioning Awareness Week. Together we premiered The Estate online on 12 November with subtitles included.
What made it special: for the first time ever at a National Theatre premiere, subtitles were on automatically from the start. Rather than being something viewers needed to seek out, they were simply there when the show began. After 20+ years of working with the National Theatre, it shows how far we’ve come.
Missed the premiere? The Estate is available to stream on National Theatre At Home with subtitles included.
Plenty of you cozied up to watch and sent us your pictures!
Introducing Stagetext+
After 25 years of championing deaf access, we’re thrilled to introduce Stagetext+, our new captioning software built with deaf audiences in mind.
Following a successful trial at the Mercury Theatre, we’re rolling out Stagetext+ from 2026. It can display captions simultaneously on caption boxes, TV screens, tablets and phones, giving audiences choice while maintaining quality access.
The software makes captioning more affordable and flexible for venues, which means more access, more often, for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing audiences.
Those who attended our launch event at Sohoplace got to experience it first-hand with a captioned demonstration by the wonderful Michele Austin. We’re thrilled to say the feedback was overwhelmingly positive! Here’s what journalist Liam O’Dell and our friends at Bridge Theatre had to say.
Birthday Celebrations and Connecting with Audiences
No birthday would be complete without cake and a celebration with those who make Stagetext possible. During the week, we threw two birthday parties. One held at the Mercury Theatre Colchester and another in London at Sohoplace. It was wonderful to celebrate 25 years with the people who’ve been part of our journey, from long-time supporters to new faces discovering our work.
We also popped up at captioned performances across the country with our theatre stands, chatting to audiences about their experiences with theatre captioning.
A UK-Wide Celebration
It wasn’t just us celebrating! Venues across the UK joined in too. From West End to regional theatres, talks and museums, captioned and live subtitled events took place throughout the week. Venues promoted their accessible events and spread the word about captioning, helping to raise awareness to their audiences.
Our Ambassadors Make It Possible
Captioning Awareness Week gives us the chance to celebrate our ambassadors, volunteers, and supporters. Their passion for accessible arts makes everything we do possible, as they’re advocates who understand that access to culture isn’t a luxury, it’s a right.
We’re always welcoming new people to the team. If you’re interested, or know someone who would love to get involved, find out how to join us.
Looking Forward
Twenty-five years later, we’re still deaf-led, still passionate about quality access. A huge thank you to everyone who made these events possible, attended shows, shared stories, tested new technology and celebrated with us – without you our work would not be possible.
The next 25 years start now!
