In the past, a visit to the theatre was an activity that was rarely enjoyed by many people with a hearing impairment. The introduction of theatre captioning through organisations such as STAGETEXT has started to reverse this trend, with an increasing number of theatres offering captioned performances. Lynn Jackson from STAGETEXT explains how the concept works.

There are nine million people with hearing loss in the UK, for whom a trip to the theatre can be a frustrating experience. Some of these people can hear a few of the sounds from the stage, but might not be able to make out all the words; others cannot hear any of the performance at all. Now there is a solution that brings theatre back to life for all of these people: theatre captioning. This tool is designed to improve the experience of a theatre visit for people with a hearing impairment, as it gives them confidence that they will be able to follow the plot.

Cinderella at the Questors theatre, west London

Prior to November 2000 — when STAGETEXT introduced theatre captioning to the UK — access to the theatre had been through sign language interpretation or sound enhancement systems. Neither method was fully satisfactory in meeting the needs of a diverse range of people with hearing loss. Seven years on, captioning has become an intrinsic part of theatre and has opened up a whole new world to people with a hearing impairment, as they are now able to enjoy a wide range of plays and musicals that had previously been denied to them.

How captions work
Captions are similar to television subtitles, but include additional information that will be of benefit to the user, such as speaker names, sound effects, offstage noises, as well as any vocal effects or accents that are crucial to the play. A qualified captioner prepares the captions in advance, and then operates them live as the action unfolds on stage. Care is taken to ensure that the captions mirror the way in which the actors deliver their lines, including any pauses. Captions are written in such a way so as not to disclose joke punchlines or important parts of the plot too early.

Caption placement
Unlike opera surtitles, which are usually above the stage, the caption unit is placed as close to the action as possible, either in the set itself, next to the stage, or otherwise flown as low as possible. This enables the user to read the captions and watch the stage action with minimal eye and head movement.

The Wizard of Oz at The Lowry, Manchester

The position of the caption unit varies from one production to another and depends on whether there is any moving scenery, and on the lighting design and the rake of the seating in the
auditorium. Placing the caption unit at the actors' head height enables users to lipread if they wish to, as well as to benefit from the captioning.

In large theatres, two caption units are used –one on either side of the stage – to minimise what we call the 'Wimbledon' or 'bouncing ball' effect when switching from captions to actors. The captions can be seen by the whole audience, which means that anyone with a hearing impairment can sit and enjoy the show alongside their friends and family.

The growth of captioning
The number of captioned shows has increased steadily over the years, from nine performances

in the first year of operation to around 200 in over 75 venues in 2007. Theatres are now investing in their own captioning equipment, and local captioners are being trained. This is obviously much more cost-effective and means that theatres can build up local audiences, which will allow them to offer a greater number of captioned shows in the long term.

STAGETEXT originally pioneered and coordinated the captioning project in Scotland, by working with 11 venues that shared a pool of equipment and captioners. As of 1 December 2007, the project has been managed locally by the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST). This has been done to maintain the growth of captioning within the country, and to achieve sustainability. The FST is the membership organisation for the professional theatre sector in Scotland and has over 100 members including large producing houses, touring companies and individual freelance practitioners.

As a result of its position within the theatre community in Scotland, the FST is ideally positioned to take over the responsibility for rolling out captioned performances across the sector.

Encouraging best practice in accessibility across its member organisations is a priority for the FST. It will be promoting captioning to its membership and the wider theatre community, and will work with Scottish theatres to develop audiences across Scotland.

In Wales, Clwyd Theatr Cymru has been programming captioned performances since 2002, both at its home in Mold and on tour. The theatre has its own captioning equipment but uses a STAGETEXT captioner. The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff has recently purchased
equipment and two local people have now qualified as captioners.

Over the past two years, STAGETEXT has
captioned several shows at the Grand Opera House in Belfast. The Northern Ireland Theatre Association has now raised money to buy its own captioning equipment and to train captioners who will work in Northern Ireland.

The first STAGETEXT captioned performance in the Republic of Ireland – The Playboy of the Western World – took place at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in November 2007. Arts and Disability Ireland has raised money to purchase equipment, train captioners and fund some performances.

See a Voice
The last 12 months have seen a substantial growth in captioned performances in London, Birmingham and Liverpool thanks to a new project called See a Voice. Last year, STAGETEXT and Vocaleyes – which provides audio description services – won a joint award of over £1 million to extend access to the theatre for people with a hearing or visual impairment. The funding came from the Treasury's Invest to Save programme and was matched with an award under Arts Council England's Grants for the arts.

See a Voice will result in an increase in captioning and audio description provision around England over the next three years. Groups of theatres and venues are being invited to join together as local hubs to share not only equipment but also training and marketing bases, and to collaborate in making their work fully accessible to existing and new audiences in a more cost-effective way than is currently possible.

Theatres now offering their first captioned shows in London are The Gate, The Bush, Soho Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Old Vic. The Royal Court, Young Vic and the Lyric

Hammersmith are also part of the hub even though they have been programming captioned performances for some time. The Tricycle Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre and the Oval House Theatre will be coming on board this year. The
Birmingham Rep and Hippodrome already have programmed captioned shows, as have Liverpool Playhouse, the Everyman and the Empire.

Fiorenzo Cecere

As a result of being deaf, I had shunned the theatre for 12
years because I didn't feel I'd be able to follow stage productions. In 2001, however, I conquered my theatre phobia and went to see My Fair Lady with a
friend. My decision was mostly rooted in the fact that my
favourite actor, Jonathan Pryce, was starring in the show. From that point onward, I became an avid theatregoer, despite the difficulties presented by not being able to hear.

I would sometimes study a script before seeing a play to familiarise myself with the storylines. Whilst this method was practical, it would often remove the element of surprise from the production. In 2003, I accidentally discovered captioning on the internet. I satisfied my curiosity by watching a STAGETEXT captioned
performance of Abigail's Party. It made me realise that captioning allows people with hearing loss to be fully submerged in the storyline of a production, and that the elusive element of surprise would at last be restored for them.

At one captioned performance in London there was a lady – who did not have a hearing impairment – sitting next to me. During the interval, she told me that she could not hear the actors and wondered whether I was having

problems as well. 'No,' I told her, 'I'm following the captions and have no difficulty at all!' I realised then that even people who have no problem with hearing sometimes experience difficulties in the theatre, and it made me appreciate captioning even more.

Going to the theatre has now become an exciting, surprising and a truly rewarding experience. I go to captioned performances two or three times a month and meet many people with a hearing impairment who used to be theatre-shy like myself. I have a new circle of friends now, and we often have meals together and discuss the plays afterwards.

It's my dream that every theatre should encourage captioning – that would be a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, there are some theatres that still baulk at it. I hope they'll change their tune soon because, no question about it, captioning is fast becoming an essential part of the theatre world, and deservedly so.