Captioned Performances

In addition to your regular BSL interpreted programme you may wish to consider offering captioning.

What is captioning?

Captions are similar to television subtitles and give deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people access to live performance. The actors' words appear on a display unit (or units), placed in the set or next to the stage, at the same time as they are spoken or sung. Speaker names, sound effects and offstage noises are also shown.

Who benefits from captioning?

Captioned performances are particularly helpful for:

• Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people who want to access plays in English.
• People whose hearing is not as sharp as it used to be.
• Anyone who has difficulty following strong accents.
• Students who are studying the text of a play.
• Foreign tourists and people whose first language is not English.

How does it work?
A trained captioner prepares the captions in advance so that they mirror the rhythm and flow of the actors' dialogue. She/he works closely with production team to ensure that any amendments or cuts to the script are incorporated. The whole process can take at least 80 hours, often more. The captioner then cues the captions live at the performance as the action unfolds on stage.

How do I follow the captions?

The full text is displayed on the caption unit but you don't always have to read every single word to get the meaning. People who use television subtitles regularly and who have seen several captioned performances tend to develop their own way of reading the captions. Some like to read the bottom line where the latest text appears; others like to take in more text with a quick glance at several lines.

Where do I sit?

When booking tickets for a captioned performance always use the contact details given on the STAGETEXT website, or ask the Box Office, which seats are most suitable for viewing the captions. STAGETEXT uses Open Captioning which means that the captions can be seen by the whole theatre, so you can sit with your family and friends and enjoy the performance together.
When you arrive at the theatre there should be a 'Welcome' message on the caption unit. If you're unable to read this clearly, ask one of the ushers or the Duty Manager if you can change seats before the show starts. This may not always be possible if a show is very popular and tickets have sold out.

What kind of productions are captioned?

STAGETEXT captions a wide range of performances across the UK including dramas, comedies, musicals and pantomimes. We caption over 200 performances a year in over 75 venues; in addition, more than 40 theatres now have their own captioning equipment and local captioners and provide the service in house. This brings the total number of captioned shows to over 550 each year.

Since captioning was pioneered in the UK in May 2000, thousands of deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people have been able to return to the theatre after many years' absence, and others have been able to enjoy the experience, often for the first time.

Social Groups project

STAGETEXT has recently launched a Social Groups project in London. The idea is that deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people enjoy a captioned performance as part of a group, mix socially and meet new friends at the same time.
Five groups have already been set up, based on a common interest or in a specific area of the capital. They cover New Plays, Musicals and Jewish Culture; deaf students, Families group, plus South West and North West London groups for people living in those area.
In the long run, STAGETEXT is looking for volunteers to work with each group and coordinate regular trips to the theatre. To find out more, email Lynn Jackson, Communications Officer (lynn@stagetext.org)

Ambassador schemes

Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people themselves continue to play a crucial role in persuading more theatres to take captioning on board. Many shows have come about following intensive lobbying by enthusiastic ambassador groups of deaf people determined to see captioning in their local theatre. For more information contact Lynn Jackson (lynn@stagetext.org).

Further information
For information on captioned performances, please see the What's On pages on the STAGETEXT website (www.stagetext.org/performance/)

STAGETEXT

First Floor, 54 Commercial Street, London E1 6LT
Telephone: 020 7377 0540
Textphone: 020 7247 7801
Fax: 020 7247 5622
Email: enquiries@stagetext.org
Website: www.stagetext.org
STAGETEXT is regularly funded by Arts Council England. Charity No. 1084300.