At every show, talk or event, one in three seats could belong to someone who is deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. Too often, that seat is empty.
The Third Seat is about changing that. We want more theatres, museums, galleries and festivals to offer captions and live subtitles, and more people to know they’re there.
Captions and live subtitles show every word as it’s spoken. With them, no one has to miss a thing.
Everyone deserves a seat.
We all deserve to enjoy arts and culture, to laugh at the same jokes as the people around us, follow every twist of a play, and hang on every word of a favourite author’s talk. With captions and live subtitles, deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people can do that, side by side with their friends and family.
But there still aren’t enough captioned and subtitled events. Too many leave people with half the story, like the play where you miss the punchline, the guided tour where you catch one word in three, the talk you’d love to hear but don’t book, because you know there’s no point.
1 in 3 adults in the UK are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. That’s 18 million people who could be in the audience, but too often aren’t. Not because they don’t care about culture, but because they can’t follow it.
Nobody sets out to leave a third of the audience behind. And with captions and live subtitles, nobody has to be.
You can help make captions and live subtitles the norm, not a rare treat. They happen when venues know people want them, and that’s where you come in.
Watch a captioned or live subtitled event, and bring along someone who’s stopped going. Share your story with #TheThirdSeat. And next time you’re in touch with a venue, ask them to “Save the third seat for me”.
Every ask makes a difference. Together, we can fill the third seat.
Right now, people in your audience are working hard just to follow along. They’re lip-reading speakers who aren’t facing them and guessing the rest from faces, tone and the laughs around them. Over time, many stop coming, and you never find out why.
We can help you welcome them back. From theatre captions and live subtitles to deaf awareness training for your team, we’ll help you make your next event accessible to everyone.
