We kicked off Captioning Awareness week 2023 with an announcement about findings from our new research on subtitle and caption use in the UK, which revealed that 42% of people said they use subtitles or captions to help with concentration. You can read more about the research here.
We also held two key events in our new home in Colchester – we welcomed guests from across the region to a networking drinks reception and we had the honour of live subtitling The Big Festive Switch On event in Colchester, in what is thought to the first of its kind for the eastern region. Read more about this event and listen to what local residents Shanalie Dias and Jayne Hudd, had to say about the live subtitles.
We also presented a free webinar, Subtitling in Online Spaces for Arts, Culture and Heritage and it was great to see so many new people engaging with Stagetext.
We want to extend a big thank you to everyone who made these events possible but most importantly a big thank you to everyone who continues to support Stagetext during this week and throughout the year – without you our work would not be possible
See a captioned show
Celebrate Captioning Awareness Week by attending one of the many captioned events during 13-19 November. Experience the magic of seeing a live performance or talk and understanding every single word.
Promo Packs
Raise awareness and promote your support around the importance of accessibility in the arts through your networks by using these prepared posts.
Caption your event
If you share our drive for bringing the beauty of theatre to a wider audience, we can provide two decades of expertise to help prepare your venue or event for a more accessible future.
Make a Donation
Make a donation to Stagetext to support our ongoing efforts to make the arts accessible to all. From a one-off or monthly donation, to running a marathon, there are so many ways you can make a difference to the work that we do.
Become an Ambassador
Our ambassadors are volunteers who help support our work and are the voice of arts-loving caption and subtitle users across the UK. They work predominantly online and share their views to help shape our work and occasionally get involved in events we organise. If that sounds like you, get in touch!
Sign up to our newsletter
Sign up for Stagetext’s bi-weekly newsletter to stay in the loop about upcoming captioned shows and news. Stay informed, stay connected to all the latest and upcoming accessible events across the UK in your inbox.
Why do we do it? Here’s what our users say:
Wayne
The Benefits of Captioning
Captioning doesn’t just benefit those who are deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing; it enriches the arts for everyone. Here are some of the key benefits:
-
Inclusivity
Captioning ensures that individuals who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, can enjoy the arts just like everyone else. It promotes a sense of belonging and equality in cultural spaces.
-
Enhanced Understanding
Even for those with perfect hearing, live performances can sometimes be challenging to follow due to accents, complex dialogue, or audio issues. Captions help everyone understand the content more clearly.
-
Language Access
For non-native speakers or individuals with language-related disabilities, captions offer an essential tool for comprehension.
-
Cultural Enrichment
Captioning opens up the arts to a wider and more diverse audience, fostering a richer cultural exchange and appreciation.
Captioning Awareness Week also gives us an opportunity to reach a whole new audience and to bring captioning to people who may not have known it was an option. Two of our users below explain the impact it had on them
Sarah
Sarah, who is profoundly Deaf, contacted us because she wanted to take her six-year-old daughter to a captioned pantomime but there wasn’t one available in her local area.
“I was very disappointed that my local theatre wasn’t cooperative to provide captions for the panto,” she says. “Mamma Mia will be my first West End musical with my daughter, Ava. She is aware that mummy can’t hear, and that I rely on subtitles every day. Ava understands that the subtitles are there to help me know what is being said.”
Annie
Annie is adjusting to life with hearing loss. When we met her at a City Lit lip-reading class, she had never been to a captioned performance before.
“I love the theatre and used to go regularly. However, over the last few years I’d virtually stopped going,” she says. “It took a while to realise why I wasn’t enjoying it anymore: I had to admit that I couldn’t keep up with the dialogue. Even with hearing aids, I missed key words and phrases.”
Stagetext helped Annie rediscover her love of the arts. “Last weekend, I experienced my first live theatre for a long while,” she adds. “With the help of captions, I caught every single word and so enjoyed the experience.
Want to get involved? Get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!
Venues: We work with venues throughout the year, offering them training sessions and free resources, including the Captioning Display Standards which we launched in Captioning Awareness Week 2022.
Captioned Events: See all the captioned events happening on our What’s On page.
