New company showreel

We’re excited to share this beautiful showreel filmed edited by David Monteith-Hodge www.photographise.com

The DH Ensemble is a professional United Kingdom based Deaf and hearing led theatre company which formed in 2013.

Our showreel features footage from our live theatre productions People of the Eye, Nodus Tollens, Fair is Foul (in development) and Mathilda and the Orange Balloon.

These shows were created and performed across the UK between 2014 and 2019.

We create live performance using a mixture of movement, British Sign Language, Spoken English, creative captions, video projection and soundscapes. Our rehearsal and devising processes employs our unique style of long form improvisation inspired by Viewpoints and play theory and adapted to be accessible for Deaf and hearing artists.

The reel features the following actors (in order of appearance):

Hermon Berhane, Ace Mahbaz, Tessa Parr, David Sands, Sophie Stone, Stephen Collins, Erin Siobhan Hutching, Mia Ward, Adam Jay-Price, Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Emily Howlett

All shows were directed by Jennifer K. Bates.

Other artists involved in the production of these shows:

People of the Eye:

Devised by Sophie Stone, Erin Siobhan Hutching and Emily Howlett.

Erin Siobhan Hutching & Jennifer K. Bates (Creative Producers), Jennifer Fletcher (Movement Direction), Samuel Dore (Videographer), Emma Houston (Soundscape), Myriddin Wannell (Set design), Rachel Sampley (Lighting Designer and Production Manager), David Monteith-Hodge (Photography & Film documentation), Nadia Nadarajah (BSL/Movement), Andrew Muir (Dramaturg).

Nodus Tollens:

Stephen Collins (dramaturg), Erin Siobhan Hutching (Creative Producer), Andrea Carr (designer), Rosemary Elliott-Dancs (design assistant/ costume maker), Becky Firth (set builder), Brian Duffy (Movement/VV)

Research and Development performers: Erin Siobhan Hutching, Stephen Collins, Brian Ferguson, David Sands, Charmaine Wombwell, Hermon Berhane.

Research & Development Movement - Mark Smith (Deaf Men Dancing)

Production photographs by David Monteith-Hodge, rehearsal photographs by Becky Bailey

Fair is Foul (in development):

Lighting Designer - Rachel Sampley (developed with Clancy Flynn)

British Sign Language / Visual Vernacular Consultant - Brian Duffy

Shakespeare Consultant / Dramaturg - Ben Spiller (1623 Theatre Company)

Creative Producer - Erin Siobhan Hutching

Photography and Videography - David Monteith-Hodge

Translation processes consultant - Dr Lindsay Snyder

Developed with performers Sandy Grierson, Nadeem Islam, William Grint, Vilma Jackson

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon:

Additional direction: Stephen Collins (Stephen will be Co-Director for the 2021 production)

Playwright Jess Kaufman (Devised with The DH Ensemble)

Book author: Randal de Seve

Creative Producers Erin Siobhan Hutching and Jess Kaufman

BSL Translation and Consultancy by Jean St Clair

Set Design and Illustrations by Jo Sargeant

Movement by Jennifer Fletcher

Lighting design and projection design by Rachel Sampley (with Phil Massingham)

Sound design by Oliver Vibrans. R&D sound design by Jess Kaufman and Aaron Barker

Outside eyes Peter Glanville, Rachel Barnett

Photography and Videography by David Monteith-Hodge

Clowning workshop Jon Davison

Audio Description Consultancy Chloe Phillips (integrated AD to be developed for the 2021 tour)

Special thanks to BSL interpreters Susan Booth, Clare Edwards, Kathy Yeoman, Naomi Bottrill, Tracey Tyer, Naomi Gray, Kate Furby, Beverley Wilson, Paul Michaels, Stephen Hudson, Chris Curran, Sophie Allen, Jo Ross, Laura Goulden, Caroline Richardson, Martin Fox-Roberts, Sandy Deo, Daniel Roberts, Sula Gleeson

Deaf Awareness Tips for Deaf Awareness Week 2020

We hope you’re all staying safe and taking care of yourselves during the lockdown.

During Deaf Awareness Week last week, the Lead Artists of The DH Ensemble filmed and put together some of our tips for Deaf Awareness which should be considered all year round, not just during Deaf Awareness Week!

BBC Radio West Midlands Interview with Erin Siobhan Hutching on Mathilda and the Orange Balloon - audio and written transcript

Shay: And a very good afternoon. It’s Sunny and Shay on BBC WM 95.6. Now, a production aimed at young children with a difference is in Birmingham this weekend. It’s called Mathilda and the Orange Balloon which tells the story of a little grey sheep but in an accessible way. It’s being performed at Touchbase Pears in Selly Oak on Saturday and we’re joined now by Erin Hutching from the company The DH Ensemble. She’s one of the lead artists for the project. Erin, a pleasure to have you on the show.

Erin: Thank you very much for having me.

Shay: Now, what’s fantastic when we heard about Mathilda and the Orange Balloon, was that you very much are bringing a diverse cast of Deaf and hearing actors to the stage. Why have you decided to do this with a production like this?

Erin: So, our company The DH Ensemble focuses on making work for Deaf and hearing audiences but we come from a background of making innovative accessible theatre for adults. Our company has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre and companies like that but we’ve really realised there’s a huge gap in the market for shows which are accessible for young children of all backgrounds so we would really love to make our work accessible for children with disabilities and without disabilities. So this particular show has Deaf actors and a hearing actor performing in it, uses sign language, uses animation and it’s welcoming for children from all kinds of backgrounds.

Sunny: And what are some of the challenges that you face when you put performances like this on? Is it the older venues, the new venues, is it the individual theatres that you go to thinking “We won’t be able to get enough audience, people might be put off”? What are some of the challenges that you’ve faced so far?

Erin: I think it’s interesting because a lot of venues at the moment are wanting to open up their audiences and to program accessible work and to use things like sign language interpretation and captions but at the same time they do worry that that might not attract the audience that they already have at the theatre. We haven’t experience that being too much of an issue for us so far in our company’s work. We always try and make it really clear that our work is accessible at its heart to Deaf audiences but it is also made for a mainstream audience, so we sometimes have to be quite careful in our marketing just to make that clear that it is accessible to everybody (Sunny laughs) and that we are a professional company making professional work. So I think that’s been a little bit of a challenge for us is just to really get that message across that as much as we really value and applaud people who make amateur and community theatre that’s not the background that we’re coming from.

Sunny: Uh huh. And how do you pick the plays that you’re going to take on then? This script for this play in particular, how did you come to, as a company, thinking this is the one, this is going to fit really well in what we’re trying to achieve?

Erin: Well we were actually approached. So this is a co-production, an international co-production, with an artist from New York called Jess Kaufman. She was living over here in the UK for a while and saw our company’s work and this is a book that - it’s based on a children’s book Mathilda and the Orange Balloon by Randal de Sève - which she really loves and when she saw our company’s work she realised that it would be a perfect fit for this book because the story is about a search for identity, it’s about labels and it’s about telling children and adults that you can be whatever you want to be and don’t let society’s expectations put you in a little box. And she thought, “Well, that’s absolutely perfect for a company that really tries to celebrate diversity and difference.”

Sunny: And when you were going through the casting process and the script itself, has it changed much or was the script or the movement stayed the same with the actors that got involved?

Erin: Well, yeah it’s interesting when you’re working a lot with sign language. So we started from the story in the book and then Jess wrote a script but that was in English and we very much want to have bilingual productions. So then the work needs to be translated into sign language. But then sometimes you find that actually creating the story visually and using sign language as the original root language is more interesting.

Shay: I think this is just great, I’ve got to say, Erin, because the whole point of this is that it’s theatre which is accessible for all. If you are deaf then that’s covered for you and if you’re not well then that’s also covered for you. It’s that whole idea of inclusivity rather than exclusivity. What has the feedback been like from parents, you know, perhaps even from children as well, with the shows?

Erin: It’s been wonderful. It’s been so lovely to see how enamoured the children are with the story and with the actors and parents have given us really great feedback. A lot of deaf parents have said that they really wish they’d had something like this when they were younger and a lot of parents who have children who are not deaf or disabled have just said how wonderful it is for their children to be exposed to that at a young age because it’s so important that you know, we all realise that everybody’s different and you meet as many people as possible when you’re young and it really opens up your mind. So, yeah we’ve had brilliant feedback from it. At the end the children get to go on the set and meet the actors -

Shay: Brilliant!

Erin: - and become part of Mathilda’s world and they love that. They absolutely love it.

Shay: Now, The DH Ensemble, it stands for The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble -

Erin: That’s right.

Shay: For anyone who’s not too sure who’s thinking what does that actually stand for.

(All laugh)

Shay: Why did you yourself personally get involved in this? Have you been affected, are you affected rather, have you had experience of either deafness or hearing - or what was it that made you think, “I need to be a part of this company”?

Erin: Well my sister is deaf so I grew up using sign language from when I was a baby so I learnt to sign as I learnt to speak and I’d been working professionally as an actor for a number of years when I moved to the UK and I hadn’t ever used sign language in my work at all. But I decided to write a play about my sister and our experiences and my family’s introduction to sign language because my parents were given the advice that many parents were given in the 80s not to use sign language because they said it would stop a child from being able to learn to speak which we now know is not the case and has led to a lot of language deprivation amongst deaf children and deaf people -

Sunny: Right.

Erin: I wrote a play about that and came across The DH Ensemble which was already an existing company and they were really interested in making it with me. So I was lucky enough to get involved and then be invited to become one of the Lead Artists of the company. The other artists that we work with are two Deaf actors called Stephen Collins and Sophie Stone who both appear a lot in main stage productions - Sophie’s on the West End at the moment and she’s been in Doctor Who - and we also have a director called Jennifer Bates who is probably the only person who has come from a background where she didn’t grow up knowing somebody who was deaf but just came to it through a series of coincidences and a real passion for learning the language which I really admire among people when they just want to learn sign language and go ahead and do it.

Shay:  I think it’s going to be a great show and I love the fact that it’s interactive and the kids get to come on and be part of it all as well - the world of Mathilda and the Orange Balloon. Such a pleasure having you on the show Erin. You’re going to be as we mentioned before performing at Touchbase Pears in Selly Oak on Saturday 25th May. The website is dhensemble.com is the website. Thanks again for joining us today.

Erin: Thank you so much.

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon is at Touchbase Pears, Selly Oak, Birmingham on Saturday 25th May

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mathilda-the-orange-balloon-an-inclusive-childrens-theatre-show-tickets-56947779341

BBC Radio Leicester Interview with Mathilda and the Orange Balloon Producer Erin Hutching - audio and transcript

ERIN: This is the first time that our company, and we specialise in work for deaf and hearing audiences, it’s the first time that we have made a children’s show. One that specifically welcomes in hearing children as well as children who are deaf and hard of hearing. And hopefully in the next stage of development we’ll be able to welcome in children with all sorts of disabilities. The book itself is an American book, so we’re doing an international collaboration with a New York artist. A lot of people here in the UK haven’t heard of the book, but it's very successful over in the US. It's all about identity - it’s the story of a little sheep who finds herself in a world where every day is the same, and she's a little bit bored until one day she sees an orange balloon in the sky, and realises that something inside her wakes up and that’s what she wants to be. So it’s all about being who you want to be, discovering who you are, and not letting anyone tell you that you can’t.
‘
JIMMY: This sounds lovely. I’m fascinated that you are a company that is set up especially to help those that are deaf or hard of hearing. What prompted you to do that?

ERIN: Well, we all come from different backgrounds. So in the company there are four of us who lead - Lead Artists - but we work with a wide range of freelance artists from all sorts of backgrounds. Two of the artists that lead the company are deaf - and the other two are not. I myself am not deaf, but my sister is, so I grew up using sign language. I got into mainstream acting about 10 years ago, and when I came into contact with The DH ensemble it was the first opportunity that I had to use sign language in my acting work. So the ethos of the company is to make really high quality professional work. We actually came out of a project with the Royal Shakespeare Company, last year we did a project with the National Theatre, but we want to be able to spread the word that deaf artists and sign language users are able to make work that is just as interesting, with as much depth and creativity as anybody else. So that's where we’ve come from. We’ve been around for about 5 years, making different kinds of work all around the country.

JIMMY: Well I think it’s brilliant, the more inclusive we can be as a nation the better.

ERIN: Absolutely.

JIMMY: Now you hear of signers that have taken to concerts recently, we had them at Download last year for the first time, Ed Sheeran has had them on his concerts, Beyonce - in terms of the world of theatre, are there many other people doing this?

ERIN: There are some companies and it is something that people are more and more interested in - for a while there has been an idea of providing a sign language interpreter who would stand on the side of the stage, similar to how you would have at one of those concerts, providing the access. But companies like ours want to make sign language and the access part of the whole production itself, so part of the very fabric of the work, so it’s not just something that gets added on at the end. So we really respect wonderful companies like Graeae Theatre Company, who make work with deaf and disabled artists, and have been around for a long time, and that’s the type of work that we want to emulate, and to take even further in our own direction with our own stamp on it. We’ve seen a proliferation of really cool work with lots of different sign language elements to it - it does seem to be something that people are becoming more and more interested in at the moment, which is great for us.

JIMMY: And how does it change the dynamic in terms of your acting or potentially a storyline - are there bolder movements, do you have to do things slower. How does it work?

ERIN: That’s a really interesting question. It does - one thing that I find working with sign language is you have to be incredibly clear about what you’re doing. So our last project that we’re also developing alongside this is a version of Macbeth - a bilingual version where there is a deaf and hearing actor playing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. You have to be incredibly sure about the meaning of what you’re saying - sometimes when people perform Shakespeare they aren’t - and they sort of like to leave it a bit vague - but when you translate something into sign language you have to absolutely decide because it’s such specific visual language, what is it that I’m saying? Because everybody is going to be able to see what you have decided that meaning is. So that allows for a lot of creativity - but it also does mean that everybody in the room has to have a lot of clarity around what the narrative is - what the character’s saying - so for me I find that quite empowering as a performer.

JIMMY: You're helping people - which I think’s great - we mentioned the word being inclusive earlier on - so I wonder what the reaction has been like for you?

ERIN: It’s been great actually - particularly for this show. It’s so lovely having young audiences along. We find that of course it’s absolutely brilliant to have deaf actors on stage who are role models for young deaf children, who might not have ever seen a deaf performer on stage before, but we’re also having really wonderful reactions from children who aren't deaf, because there is something that I find children are drawn to sign language because it’s so visual, and so much fun for them to watch. So yeah, we've just been having the most gorgeous reactions to this show, and we hope that we can get lots more children and their families to see it.

JIMMY: And talking about being inclusive we have pre recorded this interview so that we can then transcribe it for deaf and hard of hearing audiences. Which again I think is great. I mean why not?

ERIN: Absolutely. We do a lot of radio interviews but we also want to make sure our work is accessible, all of our promotion is accessible to all our audiences as well. So why not? You might think “oh well the radio is not for a deaf person” but that doesn't have to be the case, you can still read the content of the interview.

JIMMY: Absolutely. And we just have those discussions don’t we, that’s the thing about it. When we talked about us talking together today we said “well we’ll record it” because then that means it can be transcribed. And that’s all it is, it’s being adult about these things, it’s having conversation, and it’s being as inclusive as possible.

ERIN: And it’s so wonderful to have people who are receptive to that because sometimes people aren’t, and you ask “oh is it possible to make some accommodations in order to make this accessible” and then there are a lot of barriers. So it's really nice when you ask the question and people are like “oh yeah of course!”

JIMMY: Now if anybody wants to come and witness Erin and her wonderful work, then you can go to the Attenborough Arts Centre on Sunday 12th May. Thank you so much for your time Erin, I think what you’re doing is absolutely fantastic work.

ERIN:Thank you so much, it’s been lovely to talk to you.

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon tours until 25th May - details here

BBC Radio Nottingham audio and written transcript - Director Jennifer K. Bates discusses Mathilda and the Orange Balloon

Listen here:

Written Transcript of Interview:

CARSON: Really excited to talk to my new guest about something pretty special. Now go to a film, switch on your TV, or head into the theatre and you’ve got a better chance of seeing an actor with a disability then you were perhaps, I don’t know, a decade ago. That’s certainly been the goal of DH ensemble, who are formerly known as The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble. Its latest production, Mathilda and the Orange Balloon is coming to the Nottingham Playhouse later this month, featuring a cast made up of deaf and hearing actors. Really pleased to introduce you to Jennifer K Bates, she’s the woman behind the company, she created it, and also just happens to be directing this show as well. Hi!

JENNIFER: Hello there hi, thank you so much for having me for a chat.

CARSON: Absolutely our pleasure! It’s lovely to get you on. I’ve read a bit of background about this, and I’m pretty intrigued by it all. Why did you create DH Ensemble first of all?

CARSON: Well, the story goes that I had been working up in Glasgow with a theatre company called Solar Bear theatre company, and they had been making really great work with deaf young people. They were kind of at the beginning of creating a youth theatre specifically for deaf young people, that use BSL within their work, and making the work accessible for to deaf and hearing audiences. And then I pop down to London - I move down to London for various reasons - and all of a sudden there is this massif professional deaf performers and artists that are just so ready to make work, and they weren’t really having the opportunity at the that time - we’re seeing more and more opportunities yes - but there's still room for growth you know. So that was back in 2013, and I started meeting people and chatting to people, and one day we managed to get together in a rehearsal room - myself, and these deaf professionals, and other hearing artists that were interested in making accessible work, and we played. We just played and created some theatre together. And at the end of the day, we were like “Oh that was really fun! What does that mean?” And we all kind of turned to each other and said “I think this is a theatre company.” And we kept saying we need to give ourselves a better name, we can’t be called The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble - you know, it does what it says on the tin, we need a better name. But actually throughout the years, we were just like, that's what we are, and then, it’s just a bit of a mouthful really, so we shortened it the other year to just The DH ensemble. It’s kind of organically came out of just us sort of going this is a really fun thing to do, like why are we not seeing where these two cultures meet and making theatre out of that.

CARSON: It’s almost like beautiful fusion isn’t in a way. It’s great for audiences I think, but also great for the actors involved. Are more parts coming up for actors with disabilities because of this, in mainstream shows if you like.

JENNIFER: Yeah, well I think it is really important that we have more and more opportunities for deaf and disabled actors, particularly on our TV or on our main stage theatres. You know it’s really exciting actually at the moment - our Sophie Stone, who is a lead artist within The DH Ensemble - she’s actually in Emilia just now on the West End, and it’s so, you know, brilliant and exciting and important to see people, you know real people.

CARSON: Just reflecting the society you know -

JENNIFER: Absolutely! If theatre and the arts is meant to be a mirror of the world and of society, then it’s absolutely vital that we have deaf and disabled artists on our stage, telling their stories, let’s hear their stories absolutely.

CARSON: What do you say, there will be people out there who may see this advertised and think, “Oh deaf actors, I don’t want to see that” There will be people who will do that.

JENNIFER: Yeah, and to that I would say, that’s absolutely your opinion, and you’re entitled to your opinion, but come along and give it a go you know. I think, the deaf actors that we work with are absolutely exceptional, I think I choose actors to work with that I think are brilliant, it doesn’t matter if they are deaf or hearing. The guys we’re got in this show, Adam J Price, Hermon Berhane, and Mia Ward, are all absolutely beautiful performers. They bring so much to the story, so much to the characters, and if you come along, they will absolutely encapsulate you in the joy and the magic of the theatre experience - doesn’t matter if they are deaf or hearing.

CARSON: In terms of the production itself, Mathilda and the Orange Balloon, can you tell us what to expect?

JENNIFER: Yeah I can. So the gorgeous thing about Mathilda and the Orange Balloon is that it’s actually our first production for young audiences and their families. It’s adapted from a children’s book by Randall de Sève. It’s adapted with a US based writer - Jessica Kaufman - who came to The DH Ensemble with this idea for a show, but also she had been kind of excited by our theatre and what we were making in sign language and spoken English. So yeah when you come along to Mathilda and the Orange Balloon you will see three incredible performers, two of them are deaf and one of them is hearing. You will see an incredible set, created by this incredible designer named Jo. The story is about a little grey sheep called Mathilda,

CARSON: Mathilda, yes.

JENNIFER: And one day on her farm she sees an orange balloon, and she is absolutely in awe of this orange balloon, and something inside of her wakes up. And she suddenly realises that she can be an orange balloon. It’s just a beautiful story about self identity and about awakening something inside of you and not allowing other people to say “You can’t do that. You can’t be orange balloon! You are a grey sheep.” And she says “No, I can be both can’t I?”

CARSON: I love that. I love the kind of childlike view of that. I read the background to it and I was reading that premise, and the six year old boy in me came out - I though that’s nice, I wanna know, it’s the kind of thing my imagination would have cooked up at that age. And kind of the thought process - and this little grey sheep wants to know, tell me the answer, why am I grey, and why is this balloon orange. I love it. Do you know, I could talk to you all day, we’re out of time I’m so sorry. Listen I wish you all the best with it.

JENNIFER: Thank you so much.

CARSON: I know you’ve directing and created the whole darn thing as well. Best wishes with it, break a leg. Thank you very much Jennifer.

JENNIFER: Thank you, thank lovely to chat you to, bye bye.

CARSON: Jennifer K. Bates there, creator of The DH Ensemble, director of Mathilda and the Orange Balloon. It’s going to be Neville Studio by the way, if you want to go along - at Nottingham Playhouse, Saturday 11th May for your diary. Two performances to look out for, the early one is at 11 o'clock and then 1.30pm. Mathilda and the Orange Balloon, Nottingham Playhouse - a production bringing together a diverse cast of deaf and hearing actors to the stage.

Adam Jay Price on BBC Radio Suffolk - Audio & Written Transcript

LESLEY: Friday afternoon - yes the weekend is on the way! I've pulled up on the sofa and Jonny, lovely man that he is, is going to get me a cup of tea. Guest with us today is Adam J Price. Now Adam is in the county to perform in Mathilda and the Orange Balloon - it's at the at the New Wolsey studio tomorrow morning. If you like the sound of this it's for youngsters, suitable for ages 3- 8 years old. So at 11.30am tomorrow, at the Wolsey studio and when I looked earlier very few tickets left, which I guess you're delighted about as well.

ADAM: Yeah we're thrilled.

LESLEY: You need to snaffle those up. If you want to find out, have a look at the New Wolsey website. So you're with DH Ensemble – it's a company that puts on productions accessible to both deaf and hearing audiences. You've got a fascinating story, because you learnt sign language I think before you could probably talk - are your mum and dad both deaf?

ADAM: Yeah absolutely - I always say that signing was kind of my first language, cos it was one of the first things I did as a child and grew up around it, and was very much part of my life and still is, and yeah. And I learnt to sign and to speak and it was all very natural - to me I didn't feel like I was learning another language, it just was part of who I am - and it wasn't until I went to school I realised I had a skill that not a lot of other people have, and yeah very lucky to have it.

LESLEY: And it's only on the last few years I think that you tied that skill, because you knew that you wanted to do dance and singing and acting and it's recently brought the two together.

ADAM: Yeah absolutely, I've been working professionally for 7 years now and I've been doing lots of lovely projects, lots of musicals lots of different shows, but I've always felt like the signing side of my life was something that I really wanted to use and utilise and the best way to do it was to fuse it with the passion of acting. So really the last couple of years I've really worked towards meeting companies, auditioning for companies that do this type of work, and The DH ensemble gave me that opportunity and I'm very thankful for that.

LESLEY: And I bet they are grateful for you as well I should think!

ADAM: I hope so (Laughs)

LESLEY: Are there many opportunities?

ADAM: You know what, it's a very small circuit of companies who do this type of work but it is growing lots more people are surfacing and doing it, so it is a small community, but it's a wonderful community and just to be involved in it, I'm very very grateful for it.

LESLEY: You're all focused on the same thing aren't you

ADAM: Yeah!

LESLEY: But in some ways as you say, it's accessible, and it's important to know it is for people who can't hear, or people who have problems hearing, but it should be entertaining for everyone shouldn't' it, and that is a real skill.

ADAM: Exactly, accessibility is very much at the heart of what we do, especially for The DH ensemble, it's very much their ethos, it's that that you know, no matter what your situation is, when you come and watch one of our productions you will walk away and you will have enjoyed it, and had the best time and you will have fully felt included in the performance.

LESLEY: So this is more that some just standing signing...which is a brilliant asset - I went to see Kylie Minogue recently, and we sat just in front of someone who was signing her music which was fascinating - the passion and so on.

ADAM: It's a wonderful skill, really is a wonderful skill to do, and it's whole different skill set to what I have, those interpreters that can do that type of work they are wonderful, they really are.

LESLEY: But you do more than that as a group, don't you, it's part and parcel - so you use all sorts of ways of conveying the story.

ADAM: Yes, so our production we have three cast members including myself. We have two deaf actors and myself, and throughout the performance we are signing, we are speaking, there is use of projections, there is use of captions, we use pretty much very tool we can to make it fully accessible - but also to not make it feel like that we are doing it for that, but it's just part of the piece. So it's very much -it's very fluid, it just kind of works, and we work as a team the three of us, myself, Mia Ward, and Hermi Berhane- who are the other cast members - just work as a three, and really just make it a very fluid piece from start to finish with signing and speech.

LESLEY: Does that mean that the development of the piece - cos I guess between you you're working out, “oh we could this we could do that” rather than just writing it down.

ADAM: Yeah, we have a three week rehearsal period, but before that period The DH Ensemble did a research and development on the piece as well, and I think that was two weeks to really work out how they were going to do this, and then when we started day one with our rehearsals, all of the ideas that they had were pretty much fantastic, but we had to rework it again with myself, Mia and Hermi to try and see what works for the three of us, and it really was a very much a devised process throughout the three weeks.

LESLEY: For you then, for all the performers, that must be brilliant for you to have so much of a say to how it works.

ADAM: The company are just amazing at letting us have our opinion. We ask a lot of questions, which is funny because that is what the play is about as well. Mathilda asks a lot of questions and throughout the rehearsal process we were encouraged to question everything and anything we did, is this the right thing to do, is this the best way we can do it, is this the most accessible way we can do it. Our director Jennifer Bates was just amazing at giving us that voice to be able to go “I think this might work” or “I think if we do this it will tell the story so much better”.

LESLEY: Does that mean you feel prouder of it on a way? That own it?

ADAM: Absolutely! It's a collaborative piece, that's why it's called The DH Ensemble, we are an ensemble, it kind of feels like all of ours little baby, this project feels very much like it's in our hands, and we are showing it to the world now and it's absolutely wonderful. One of the producers who co produced the show Jess Kaufman, it's very much her dream is what we are doing right now, she obtained the rights to the children's book, and she approached The DH Ensemble and said I have this book, I have this story, I think you are the best company to tell this story. Let's do it, and she has been seeing this through for I think at least 2 or 3 years so to see it come to fruition - for her it is just wonderful for us to give to her, and wonderful for her to see it and even better to give it to the audiences that are coming to watch it.

LESLEY: What was her reaction the first night?

ADAM: A lot of tears, happiness, very overwhelming – throughout the whole process looking at her face was like looking at a baby looking at sweets. It was just so lovely. She had a firm voice in the process as well– we all did. She was also open – she created the piece, she also wrote the piece as well. We would approach her and say “ we think this this might work better” and she was “great that's it! We'll change it” she wasn't precious about it. In a way she was and in a way she wasn't – you know, she allowed it to be adapted.

LESLEY: So tell me about it – you say Mathilda asks lots of questions. So it's Mathilda and the Orange Balloon…..

ADAM: Yes, so Mathilda and the Orange Balloon. So Mathilda – she's a grey sheep, she lives in very much -

LESLEY: I don't know I didn't think to get that! (Laughs)

ADAM: (Laughs) – she lives very much grey world, and her herd essentially are just very happy with life.

LESLEY: Her flock.

ADAM: The way that they live their lives is that eat clovers, and they are just content. But Mathilda, in her brain, all these questions are going round and round, like why do we do this and why do we do that, and then suddenly she sees an orange balloon, and it's just like that light bulb moment. She sees it and she identifies with it and she's like wow, I've never seen an orange balloon, and why can't I be an orange balloon, so she wants to be the orange balloon. And from there on it, the whole show, it just takes us an journey of self discovery and self expression, and just questioning why do we do this and why do we do that, and why can't we be there? And I'm sitting here and I'm a man, but why also can't I be a rocket ship in a couple of hours time?

LESLEY: Kids are like that aren't they.

ADAM: Yeah, kids ask questions, their brains are constantly turning, and they imagine themselves to be anything, and as adults we lose that part of ourselves I think, and this play is what essentially to regain that part of ourselves to go - we can be whatever we want to be, anything is possible, if we just out our mind to it and believe it. And I think that's a really good message regardless of if you are child or an adult.

LESLEY: And what have the audiences been like? Cos they are youngsters aren't they? Do they sit fixed How do they react?

ADAM: Most of them are just completely fixated, especially with our projections – that our designed by our wonderful designer Jo – they are just so fixated on the imagery, and everything, and all the lights. But also they get so involved, it's quite an interactive show.

LESLEY: Do they get a chance to join in?

ADAM: Yeah! Well me and Mia who are the story tellers throughout the piece, we ask them the questions. We go – we don't know what this is, but what is it? And they get so involved! And they love it, and it's very interactive, they get to have a moment at the end when they get to do something really fun with us, and they are just so engaged. And what's even better is seeing hearing children and deaf children having the same engagement in the show. It doesn't matter, you just can't tell the difference. They are fully there.

LESLEY: And you've had really good audiences?

ADAM: Yeah, pretty much full. We've been touring the show now for the past couple of week's and very audience has been near enough full. Which has been wonderful.

LESLEY: I bet you always get that one lively child that you have to gently try and keep control of don't you? (both laugh)

ADAM: We encourage the children to have their voice, to have their moment. One of our shows all of the kids in the audience decided to have a dance party. (laughs) Some music comes on in the show and they all just got up and they started dancing. We were like, “you know what, let them have their moment!” This their show! But also we still need to tell the show – so you've had your moment, let's move on, let's continue. But that was so heart warming to see. I just loved watching them all. We didn't ask them to dance, there was no reason for them to be dancing! But why couldn't they dance, of course they can dance, let them dance, yeah wonderful.

LESLEY: It's a wonderful chance for you to see them go to the theatre, maybe for the first tine, And your mum took you to the west end when you were 13?

ADAM: Yea! So my mum... we'd gone and seen a few pantos when I was really young, but nothing really caught my eye until when I was 13. My mum had got a ticket to a captioned performance of Mary Poppins. She knew I was quite interested in theatre and live shows, and she took me along with her, and I was just blown away from start to finish. And it was that moment when I was like - “Wow, people actually do this for a job, so I'm going to do this for a job.” And from there on in, I was like a bull in china shop, This is what I'm going to do, and just kept doing it. And here I am doing it.

LESLEY: Those children that are coming to see your production, they may end up doing exactly what you're doing. Because of that.

ADAM: There is nothing more I can ask for really. What a wonderful gift to be able to give to children. First of all, their first ever live theatre experience, and if some of the kids do walk away with it saying this is what a wanna do, then wow, then that's just wonderful.

LESLEY: And to enjoy the magic of theatre, cos it is real magic isn't it.

ADAM: It's very magical.

LESLEY: Now I'm sorry about this, this is our key question, it's not biscuits! So you have to help yourself to a key on a fob, and then you have to answer the question.

ADAM: Right. Okay...

LESLEY: (laughing and rustling noises) What question have you got?

ADAM: What is your favourite dish or meal to cook? This is such an easy question for me because I cook it all the time!

LESLEY: Is it the only thing you can cook?

ADAM: (Laughs) No it's not! I love to cook, but for some reason every third dish is this dish, it's carbonara.

LESLEY: I love carbonara!

ADAM: I love a carbonara! I cook it for my flatmates, I cook it for my partner, I cook it for everyone, I cook it for myself, I just love it so much.

LESLEY: Are you very strict with it? What do you put in it?

ADAM: Erm, I'm kind of strict, but I don't do it I guess essentially the English way, the creamy way, I do it with the egg and the parmesan cheese.

LESLEY: Which you stir in at the last minute?

ADAM: Yeah you stir in at the last minute, you cook your pancetta and spaghetti and you chuck it in at the last minute.

LESLEY: Stir it all together

ADAM: And there you go! It's really easy!

LESLEY: I'm hungry now.

ADAM: Yeah I'm quite hungry too!

LESLEY: We'll have a bit of travel news, we'll have a bit of music and then we'll come back - and we'll talk because, if you don't mind, it's fascinating, just hearing - because I think you had an older sister who you when to talk to, but your parents you would have signed language to. It's so fascinating, and it's only now when you look back do you realise, I guess what a special time it was.

ADAM: Yeah, wonderful. Yeah yeah absolutely.

LESLEY: So Adam J Price is our guest and I''ll give you the details again in just a minute or two. Mathilda and the Orange balloon, it's the Wolsey studio tomorrow.

MUSIC AND TRAVEL NEWS BREAK

LESLEY: So the guest today Adam J Price, He's an actor performing Mathilda and the orange balloon, it's a young bit of theatre for young children tomorrow, 3 – 8 years old, it's at the Wolsey studio tomorrow morning at 11.30am. Just a few tickets left had a look earlier on - so have a look at their website and book yourself in. It's The DH ensemble, a theatre company that's lead by deaf and hearing artists so a mixture, so we were hearing, there is video, there is all sorts.

ADAM: Yeah yeah, visuals, projections, captions, spoken English, BSL – every aid we can get we use.

(Laughs).

LESLEY: You're studying BSL now aren't you? Did you learn BSL, what was it you learn?

ADAM: The thing is, growing up with deaf parents, you''d class, me as a CODA, which is a child of deaf adults – so we did do BSL growing up with my mum but we also did a bit of SSE, which is sign supported English. And also when you grow up with deaf parents you kind of create your own amalgamation

LESLEY: I was going to say, I bet they have already developed their own language.

ADAM: Yeah, you do an amalgamation. In a way, for spoken people, we create slang words within our family, stuff like that. You can kind of do the same thing with sign. So, the last couple of years, when I said I really wanted to target signing with acting, I really need to make sure my signing skill is top notch.

LESLEY: You don't want any slang signing.

ADAM: Yeah, I don't want any influences or bad habits that had as a child creep into my work. BSL is such a useful language and it's the most accessible way to communicate, so I started taking my levels again, just to make sure that my skill was good. I recently qualified and finished in my level 3, and just about to start my level 6 very soon - just to continue fine tuning the skill really, and just have it on paper to say that I can do it, cos it's sometimes just saying “I grew up with it” might not be enough.

LESLEY: I guess most people don't get to do that do that do they. It';s intriguing, because of my boys growing up couldn't say yogurt so he said “Geeyok” - and I guess it's exactly the same in signing, that you'll have your own way of doing it.

ADAM: Well what's really lovely is that I've got a nephew who is 8 years old and my mum babysits him a lot when my sisters working. And he is a great singer at 8 years old, it's wonderful, he can communicate with my mum very easily. It's lovely to see that in him, because I guess what I'm seeing in him is what happened to me when I was his age. But he has his own signs fort certain words that he'll sign to my mum that are completely wrong, but my mum understands, and she takes it, because at that moment in time that is what he believes the word to be this sign - and my mum recognising it so she doesn't question it, and as he gets a bit older she'll start to show him the right way to do things are, so your example is a perfect example for spoken people.

LESLEY: It's interesting isn't it, because they teach basic sign language to babies don't they? It isn't British sign language.

ADAM: No, it's makaton is what they teach.

LESLEY: But it shows doesn't it, that child can sign before they speak..

ADAM: Well children are sponges, for anything. Children from a very young age are able to be aware of their surrounding and take it all in. I felt like I didn't learn to sign, I just absorbed it like a sponge. That's the best way I can describe it, these methods of communication are so valuable for children, no matter what complications they may or may not have, it's just such a useful way to communicate.

LESLEY: Do you think we ought to teach... There is someone in Suffolk who believes all children should be taught makaton - but do you think there should be... well, I wouldn't have minded learning basic sign language, just so that if I ever met someone who couldn't hear, I could at least have a conversation or try and make a sign.

ADAM: I think it would such a useful thing to do in schools, juts to teach a basic sign language and then give the option if people want to process and do it further, I think it would be a wonderful thing to do. These skills are so useful. Obviously for communicating with any deaf person that you come across, but would be useful for lots of things, for job opportunities, for other things that you might want to do in your life, to have that skill, it couldn't be a bad thing.

LESLEY: There is a young lad in Suffolk who's been campaigning to have it for one of his GCSE’s. And why not?

ADAM: And exactly, why not? Maybe not so fair if it was a GCSE for me because I would have got straight through, but you know, why not have GCSE in sign language, why not have it enrolled in the school curriculum, it's such a useful way of communicating.

LESLEY: So obviously you grew up and were totally unaware really, you just learnt to communicate with your parents as any children to, but you had an older sister - who did talk to you as well. Because of course you had to learn to speak, or wanted to learn to speak, and from your point of view that was pretty essential. How did she manage?

ADAM: Well she managed because obviously our extended family are all hearing as well, so my grandparents, my aunties, my uncles, my cousins, all hearing.

LESLEY: So they all made an effort

ADAM: They all made an effort. I think when my sister when to nursery, when to school for the first time, she kind of walked in with the mentality that being deaf was the majority and being hearing were the minority – and actually she soon realised with the help of her teachers that it was quite the other way round, and what my sister had was a really special skill to communicate with her mum and dad. So I think she struggled a little bit more than maybe I did, because I had her by my side from the minute I was born speaking to me

LESLEY: So you'll have learnt both side by side.

ADAM: Yeah yeah definitely, but I don't think it was much of a struggle her her either, I think it just came quite natural for her, but yeah, I think she probably had a bit of a harder task than I did, I probably got away with a bit more help from my sister.

LESLEY: At the time I'm guessing that you didn't really notice - as you say you didn't notice there was any difference, as you've got older, has it made you aware that for people who are deaf or have a hearing problem, that's hard to get that richness of life? Cos so much of our life is based on noise, on music and television and so on, and we ought to do what you're doing and make things as accessible as possible.

ADAM: Yeah totally – I think what I've realised more than ever, is that there are ways to fix these complications, these complications in terms in terms of communication, accessibility and that sort of thing, there are ways to fix it in every part of the world really. I think that we've just got to do it basically.

LESLEY: Just get on and do it.

ADAM: We've just got to do it. For any sort of disability there are ways of accessibility, increasing accessibility, gaining more inclusivity, in their lives and stuff. I can only speak about my parents – I wouldn't want to talk on behalf of the whole Deaf community, but my parents they make the best of what they have, and they work very hard just to get on with life really and enjoy it and find the richness, even though they've lost one sense basically. But there were a lot of things growing up that I realise that it was really difficult for my mum and dad to do, without some sort of aid or help or anything, so me and my sister did a lot to help my parents growing up. Which was wonderful for us actually, because it taught us a lot about the world. And being aware, and deaf awareness, and helping other, and helping people to communicate and that sort of thing, From that is what I've taken away in my adult life, and what I've really wanted to tackle and challenge in everything I do.

LESLEY: It's all about awareness isn't it really.

ADAM: Yeah, it's complete awareness.

LESLEY: And just going to a shop can be tricky can't it - unless hearing loops are working properly and all those things, and if we don't make the effort.

ADAM: There are so many different forms of hearing impairments and that sort of thing, and each case is different, and you have to deal with each case slightly differently, but it's just about, I know it sounds silly, but it's just doing it. Its literally just doing it, and doing it with open arms. Its all anyone could ever ask for really.

LESLEY: Have they been to see what you're up to? See your production?

ADAM: My parents? Yeah they came and saw it last week, my mum cried from start to end.

LESLEY: (Laughs) she must be blow away I was going to say.

ADAM: Yeah well my mum’s a huge theatre lover anyway, she's seen every single performance I've done, she's cries at pretty much every performance I've ever done

LESLEY: (laughs)

ADAM: But yeah, for her, she felt just a sense of pride, and very proud that her son was doing something that gives back to the community. Basically.

LESLEY: She must also... because I guess if.. was she always deaf? I guess her growing up was probably toughish, because we're better now that we ever used to be, and to see the kids in the theatre.

ADAM: Well for my mum it was quite difficult. Because she lost her hearing when she was two. My grandparents are from Cyprus. They moved to England for better opportunities for children who had lost their hearing. They couldn't speak English very well. So not only was my mum trying to communicate with her parents who couldn't speak English, they also couldn't sign. But they made it work, they just supported each other and loved each other that's all.

LESLEY: She must just love the fact that this production is for kids as well so they can get involved.

ADAM: Yeah absolutely. She would have loved to have seen something like that as a child - I think she would have done it, given an opportunity, like she really would have done. I think I get a lot of acting ability from my mum, because she's one crazy lady (laughs)

LESLEY: I have another key question, and then we'll sort of gallop a bit through your career as well.

ADAM: Right, Facebook or Twitter?

LESLEY: Or as one of my guest said the other day, neither! Instagram!

ADAM: Well Facebook, twitter or Instagram – I use all three for very different things I think. I use Facebook really to keep in contact that aren't in my life like... that aren't around me all the time?

LESLEY: So people aboard, or people just friends...

ADAM: Yeah so people I see, so friends that don't live close by and stuff. Twitter I use mainly for my acting stuff.

LESLEY: Business

ADAM: Yeah business side of things, and Instagram is just for self validation. (Laughs)

LESLEY: (Laughs)

ADAM: It's just to put a picture up and feel good about yourself. Isn't that what everyone uses it for?

LESLEY: It's either that or food isn't it. We'll come back Adam and talk more in just a minute or two. Adam J Price with us. It's Mathilda and the Orange Balloon, it's an accessible piece of theatre for youngsters, age between 3-8 - it's happening at the New Wosley studio tomorrow at 11,30am, the tickets may well have all gone now, but if you want to have a quick look you can do so and maybe book yourself in.

MUSIC BREAK

LESLEY: My guest with us here Adam J Price, he's an actor, he's with Te DH Ensemble at the New Wosley Studio they are putting on Mathilda and the Orange Balloon. It;s happening tomorrow, it's an accessible piece of theatre for children, it's for deaf and hearing people, it's lead by deaf and hearing artists as well - and I've saying there is an 11.30am performance, but there is a 1.30pm and 2.30pm as well.

ADAM: 3.30pm

LESLEY: Oh 3.30 oh dear, I'm getting it all wrong (laughs) Have a look at their website and you'll get it all exactly right.

ADAM: Yeah it's all there.

LESLEY: But anyway, it's tomorrow, it's the studio, so look up the New Wosley website and then look for the studio 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm. Have to give you a bit of a gap in-between don't they, and it was selling really well when I saw earlier on. But it sound an amazing piece of theatre, and I'll get him to remind you just a little bit more about it before we finish. But I want to gallop through your life a little bit, and we've been hearing that you grow up, your parent were both deaf. Your mum took you to see Mary Poppins wasn't it? On the west end stage - which has come all the way round again isn't it.

ADAM: Yeah it's coming back this year, definitely going to go watch it cos it will be like a full circle thing for me, it would be lovely.

LESLEY: And you've always wanted to be in theatre, I think you did some stuff when you were at home. But you did go off to drama school as well didn't you?

ADAM: Yeah, I was very lucky to be offered at place at the MTA in London which I went to when I was 18, and I trained for two years. It was very much an intensive course as it was a lot of hours but wonderful training - graduated in 2012 and yeah, just worked from then on. I got an agent, and just did lots of shows and lots of different projects.

LESLEY: You've done quite a lot of travelling haven't you? Cruise ships for a start.

ADAM: Yeah I've been lucky to travel. I've been on tour in Italy, I did a residency out in Tenerife, in Crete I did a cruise ship. I've done two cruise ships actually for royal Caribbean the company, and I did Grease the Musical with them. Which was just a wonderful experience, the show itself was amazing, I loved doing the show so much.

LESLEY: So you'd do that every night do you? And go to a different port every day?

ADAM: Yeah essentially yeah! Well we didn't perform every night we performed maybe three or four times of a set cruise, but yeah - every day we were in a different port, we'd get off, get to explore, cos our working hours were in the evening, and in the evening is when the ship is sailing, so it meant that every time we were in a country we got to see it. We were very fortunate we were able to do that. On the cruise ships I've travelled so many places in the world that I just never thought that I'd be in, to be able to have the opportunity I really seized it when I got offered it. And whilst I'm young with no commitments and nothing holding me back, just go, travel the world, perform, hone my craft as well. Which is really important. Every job I do, every show I do, I'm learning more about my own skills and what I can do and bettering myself really. And with support of my agent, everyone at Michelle Blair Mnagement who are wonderful, and the continued support I get from the drama school that I went to the MTA - their policy is a college for life and it very much is that, you know, 7 years down the line I can still call them up and say “I need help! Please help me!” And they'll help me. And they give me opportunities that I didn't have before.

LESLEY: Do you know the sort of work you like doing? Or do you like to do anything?

ADAM: I love just telling stories. And I love musical theatre, it's what I trained in, I love to sing I love to dance I love to act – and I love BSL and signing. My dream, my absolute dream, would to be involved in a musical where I could use my signing. I went out to New York – when was this? Maybe three or four years ago and there was a company called Deaf West, which had put on a production of Spring Awakening on Broadway and it was all Deaf actors with Hearing actors. Full scale musical on Broadway signing in American sign language so I couldn't really follow the sign language – cos it's different if you didn't know, it's different from British sign language. Couldn't follow it, but it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen and I walked away and I went - that is what I wanna do, that is at the top of my bucket list when it comes to being an actor.

LESLEY:So we need to get someone to do a west end musical that you can be part of.

ADAM: Yeah I feel it in the pipe line, it;s gotta happen at some point, but yeah that would be the most wonderful thing,. But I really I just love to tell stories, to work on really interesting projects, and just have a great time doing it.

LESLEY: Didn't you do a musical Hamlet? Have I got that right?

ADAM: Oh gosh, we're going right back in archives now!

LESLEY: You're only nine years in the business, so it's not that far back!

ADAM: This was my first job out of drama school – it was a production of Hamlet but it was a musical production – so yeah, it was the script of Hamlet, it wasn't Shakespeare though, it was English, modern day English, with contemporary pop music – it worked! It sounds like it wouldn't work but it did work and we did it for 8 months and it was so well received, and we toured it in Italy - so I lived in Italy for 8 months with the show. Yeah the Italian audiences loved it.

LESLEY: Was it in English or was it in Italian?

ADAM: It was in English – but they go crazy for it out there. They love theatre. And their theatres are gorgeous – the buildings are quite something I've never seen before. That was my first job out of drama school, it was an incredible experience to tour another country.

LESLEY: And you were in Crete weren't you? Was it the same sort out of thing in Crete?

ADAM: Yes, well I was just working as a vocalist out in Crete, I was doing the singing in these production shows – and it was just lovely to live in Crete for 4 months and just sing, and fill a gap of unemployment. It was nice to be singing and working on that skill, and bettering myself that way. And yeah, I've just done lots of jobs and all very different.

LESLEY: Would that be your advice to a budding actor? Just take what you can get and enjoy it and do it?

ADAM: Yeah, I think within reason. Take every experience you can get and really hone your craft. But there is sometimes companies out there that try to take advantage of actors and it's important to know your own worth as well. Because we train hard, and we pay a lot of money to train hard, but saying that – all these experiences and opportunities that come your way take them.

LESLEY: Just don't be used.

ADAM: Yeah just take them hone your craft, better yourself, get as much experience behind your belt and just got for it because it's the only way. It;s just gotta go, steam roll ahead and just do it.

LESLEY: We have time for just one more final key question

ADAM: Yeah let's do it.

LESLEY: We'll do that in just a second after the latest travel news.

TRAVEL NEWS BREAK

LESLEY: This afternoon - Adam J Price. He's at the New Wolsey Studio tomorrow - children's production Mathilda and the Orange Balloon with DH ensemble, a theatre company that's lead by deaf and hearing artists. Three productions - 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm, have a look at the website and book yourself in if there are any tickets left, cos it would be lovely to have full studios wouldn't it, full of lively youngsters.

ADAM: Yeah, that's exactly what we want.

LESLEY: And you're off to see the signs of Suffolk as much as you can fit in between now and then yeah?

ADAM: Yeah absolutely!

LESLEY: Have you been to Suffolk before?

ADAM: I've never, this is my first time. I rarely venture out of London (laughs) but I really love the opportunity to venture outside of London to see other places and explore ,so I'm really excited to look around and see what I can find.

LESLEY: And just for those who weren't with us at the beginning just to remind us, what to expect with Mathilda and the Orange Balloon.

ADAM: Yes, so Mathilda and the OrangeBalloon is a fully accessible piece of theatre with BSL, spoken English, creative captions, projections a story of self discovery, self expression, asking questions, and just a very interactive fun piece of accessible theatre for children age 3 – 8 and yeah, it's a wonderful piece of theatre.

LESLEY: Mathilda is a sheep and she lives in a grey world - until she sees an orange balloon.

ADAM: And this orange balloon changes her life. It changes all of our lives really, it's a special moment in the show.

LESLEY: And lots of interaction. It's about 45 minutes isn't...

ADAM: Yeah roughly it's about 45 minutes

Production shot, Mathilda and the Orange Balloon. Photo credit: David Monteith-Hodge

LESLEY: I think it sounds magnificent. And thank you so much for coming in and having a chat with us as well.

ADAM: Thank you for having me it's my pleasure.

(clanking noise) LESLEY: oops excuse me I was just sorting your final key question here

ADAM: Here we go. Which do you prefer, posh clothes or causal? Definitely casual. I like to dress up now and then I like to get a suit on and stuff but I'm all about comfort.

LESLEY: What's the oddest costume you had to wear?

ADAM: Oh, okay, I thought that was going to be a hard question but it's not. I once danced the can can as a rabbit with a full can can skirt, with rabbit ears, make up. Yeah, very bizarre.

LESLEY: That must be on Youtube somewhere.

ADAM: I don't know, please don't search! (laughs) Probably most bizarre costume.

LESLEY: Well you won't be dressed like that tomorrow that's for sure

ADAM: no I will not.

LESLEY: Thank you so much for coming in.

ADAM: Ah thank you for having me.

LESLEY: It's been fascinating, and we'll watch this space and let me know when we got that west end show, that's totally accessible to everybody, and you're in the lead role as well.

ADAM: Well no, we want a deaf actor in lead role, and I will be just there to help and everything.

LESLEY: Of course, that's better, that's better. Lovely to see you

ADAM: Lovely to see you too, thank you for having me, I really appreciate it.

LESLEY: Enjoy your visit. So it's Mathilda and the orange balloon, it's the Wolsey studio so have a look at their website - the Wolsey theatre website. It's on tomorrow suitable for ages 3-8, so 11.30am, 1.30pm, and 3.30pm tomorrow. I'm back with you on Sunday morning, very bright and early 6 o'clock.

Jess Kaufman on London Live talking about Mathilda and the Orange Balloon

Our international collaborator, writer and producer Jess Kaufman spoke to London Live about our project Mathilda and the Orange Balloon. Click here for full tour dates and booking details.

Watch the video here and read the transcript below:

• [Jess] Mathilda is a little grey sheep in a little grey and green world. But her mind is full of questions. She’s constantly pestering the adult sheep asking “What is that?” “Why is that there?” “Why is the flower growing?” And one day an orange balloon makes a surprise appearance on her farm and wakes up something inside her that she didn’t even realize was there. And over the course of the story and the course of the show, Mathilda discovers that she can be anything she can imagine and that she’s not limited to the definitions of herself that other people offer her.

• [Anthony] Yeah, you can see quite quickly what the real messages are within this piece.

• [Jess] Absolutely.

• [Anthony] And this is about making sure that young children, you know, aren’t put in positions. You know, girls can be nurses, boys can be doctors.

• [Jess] Absolutely.

• [Anthony] That kind of approach. Is that where the sheep ends? Her journey, does she realize, that actually, you know, life is full of options?

• [Jess] Absolutely. Mathilda realizes that she can be a grey sheep. She can be an orange balloon. She can be a rocket ship or an astronaut or anything she can imagine. And she brings her entire herd and, in our play, the audience, on that journey with her.

• [Anthony] The process of taking it from that book to a stage production, has that been quite difficult?

• [Jess] No, not at all. My initial idea of transforming it into a stage play was met with absolute joy by the book’s author, Randall de Séve and the illustrator, Jen Corace, who’ve been very kind in securing the adaptation rights with me to create the story on stage. I approached The DH Ensemble about it a couple of years ago and they embraced the idea because it’s just perfect for their aesthetic.

• [Anthony] That explains a little bit more about that theatre group because they do an awful lot of work to make sure that everyone who goes has the same experience.

• [Jess] Absolutely. The DH Ensemble is a professional theatre company founded by Deaf and hearing professional artists who come together to make work that’s fully accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences. They work with a fully accessible rehearsal room and we include British Sign Language, spoken English, creative captions, projections, sound that can be felt in the body: all kinds of strategies to make the show aesthetically innovative and fully accessible to everyone who wants to see it.

• [Anthony] When you’re working on a production which has to make sure that all those factors are involved, it’s added layers, isn’t it?

• [Jess] Yeah.

• [Anthony] I imagine that prep slows the process down to make sure you get it spot on, perfect for everyone.

• [Jess] Absolutely. We’ve been very fortunate to have partnerships with Jackson’s Lane Theatre, and with Greenwich and Lewisham Young People’s Theatre. And between them we’ve had a very generous rehearsal process of three weeks. We also did a fully funded R & D at Sheffield Theatre last year who gave us two weeks to really dig deep into the show with DH Ensemble company members Stephen Collins, Erin Hutching, and director Jennifer Bates to really make sure we got it just right.

• [Anthony] Yeah we’re looking at some of the rehearsal pictures now. Who does Mathilda meet on the way? Who are the other characters?

• [Jess] Ah. Well, Mathilda’s story is told for us by two narrators. You’ll see Mia and Adam here. They’re narrators. They’re clowns. They’re absolutely hilarious. And over the course of the show, as you can see in these photos, they take on the personalities of the other sheep in Mathilda’s herd.

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon Press Release

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon

UK Tour: February – May 2019

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon brings a diverse cast of Deaf and hearing actors to the stage to follow the story of Mathilda, a little grey sheep whose mind is always full of questions. Join her on a journey of self-discovery as she learns the joys of self-expression and see how, with a little imagination and a big open mind, anything is possible! The DH Ensemble have made Mathilda’s world fully welcoming and accessible to D/deaf and hearing children and their families through the use of spoken English, British Sign Language, creative captions and animation.

Mathilda's world is small - nothing but grey sky and green clovers. She yearns for something different. When she sees an orange balloon in the sky, it sparks a new feeling about who she can be! But how can she communicate this to her herd? This charming play encourages young people to express themselves freely and demonstrates the importance of self-acceptance and positive, inclusive relationships.

Adapted from Randall de Sève’s book, which celebrates children’s individuality and creativity, this stage adaptation of Mathilda and the Orange Balloon will tell the story in an accessible way even inviting young audience members onto the stage to meet the actors for supervised interactive play on the farmyard set. Mathilda will be brought to life by Deaf actor, disability awareness advocate and fashion influencer Hermon Berhane. The production will make a strong contribution to the landscapes of both theatre for young audiences and accessible theatre and for many of the D/deaf and disabled children in the audience it may be the first time they see authentic representations of themselves onstage.

The DH Ensemble has a proven track record pioneering new approaches to accessible theatre practice with their show People of the Eye successfully touring the UK on several occasions. Their company of D/deaf and hearing artists collaboratively creates original performance.

Director Jennifer Bates comments, After several years of making bold theatre and pushing the boundaries of what accessible theatre can be, it’s time for the DH Ensemble to make a show for our toughest audience yet, children. When Jess Kaufman approached our company with the idea and a working script we loved it from the first read. Mathilda and the Orange Balloon is about exploration, interaction and asking questions about the world around us and our role in it. It’s about identity and self acceptance. Never has it felt more important to make a performance for the future makers and their families.

Notes to Editors

Title Mathilda and the Orange Balloon

Running time 45 minutes

Social Media @DH_Ensemble, #MathildaDHE

Notes The show is a family show suitable for children aged 3-8 and their families. The show is accessible to deaf and hearing audiences through the use of British Sign Language, spoken English and projected animations & captions.

Mathilda Hermon Berhane

Narrators Adam Jay-Price and Mia Ward

Director Jennifer K. Bates

Writer/Dramaturg Jess Kaufman

Projection/Lighting Designer Rachel Sampley

Producers Erin Siobhan Hutching and Jess Kaufman

Set and Costume Designer Jo Sargeant

The DH Ensemble Lead Artists Jennifer K. Bates, Stephen Collins, Erin Siobhan Hutching and Sophie Stone

Tour Dates

Saturday 16th Feb Greenwich and Lewisham Young People’s Theatre, London

http://www.glypt.co.uk/

Sunday 24th Feb Cambridge Junction

www.junction.co.uk

Saturday 2nd March New Wolsey, Ipswich

www.wolseytheatre.co.uk

Tuesday 5th March Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury

https://arlington-arts.com/

Saturday 11th May Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham

https://arlington-arts.com/

Sunday 12th May Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester

www.attenborougharts.com

Saturday 25th May Touchbase Pears, Birmingham

https://touchbasepears.org.uk/whatson/

All enquiries, high res images, further press information and bookings:

Tilly Wilson, Chloé Nelkin Consulting

E: tilly@chloenelkinconsulting.com, M: 07707 779 608

W: www.chloenelkinconsulting.com

Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair - Macbeth Research and Development at the National Theatre Studio

In October of this year we were privileged to work at the National Theatre Studio on our bilingual version of Macbeth, supported by the New Work department.

The challenging task involved translating sections of Shakespeare’s text into British Sign Language which was then both signed and spoken in performance, as well as having the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth double-cast with deaf and hearing actors. Our four actors fluidly moved between pairs, a quartet, four individuals or three against one, showing physically the inner turmoil and fracturing within these characters and their relationship with each other.

We were excited to share a short work-in-progress performance with an audience of invited guests. We hope to develop this into a full show in 2019/2020.

This project was funded by Arts Council England and supported by New Wolsey Theatre, National Theatre and Poplar Union.

The actors were Stephen Collins, Sophie Stone, Erin Siobhan Hutching and Oliver Alvin Wilson. Non-performing artists were Jennifer K. Bates, Ben Spiller, Brian Duffy, Rachel Sampley, Clare Edwards, Susan Booth. All images by David Monteith-Hodge.

Audience feedback:

“The best Macbeth I have ever seen” - Deaf actor Jean St Clair

“The switching around between the characters was wonderful and fluid. It was so great to see Deaf and hearing actors working well together rather than being quite separate. A wonderful ensemble ethos.” Stuart Allen, Senior Producer, Derby Theatre

Casting Notice - Mathilda and the Orange Balloon

The DH Ensemble is casting for our new family show Mathilda and the Orange Balloon, based on the popular children’s book by Randall de Sève and created in collaboration with US artist Jess Kaufman.

We are looking for one D/deaf and one hearing actor with a high level of British Sign Language fluency (Level 6, native user or equivalent fluency desirable but Level 3 and 4 BSL will be considered). We welcome applications from actors of any age, gender, race or nationality. We particularly welcome applications from BAME and LGBTQ+ performers. The show is about identity and self-actualisation so it is particularly important that we model a variety of diverse identities for our young audiences.

Dates:

Rehearsals will be held in London from 28th January to 15th February 2019. UK tour between 15th February and 16th March and again 6th-12th May 2019. Further dates may be added.

Fee:

The fees will be in line with Equity rates.

Audition Dates:

Workshop-style auditions will be held in London and Glasgow between 19th and 21st December.

To apply:

Please email info@thedeafandhearingensemble.com with your Spotlight profile or CV and headshot by Friday 7th December at 6pm. Please include a cover letter addressing this criteria:

Essential:

• excellent improvisational skills

• good with children

• a willingness to work as an ensemble team player

Desirable:

• experience performing in family shows / theatre for young audiences

• clowning experience

• a London base for rehearsals

Week One of Research & Development on Macbeth

In 2016, we were one of two finalists for the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award and we were awarded one week of research and development time at the Barbican looking at Macbeth using spoken and signed languages through the eyes of the central couple.

It’s finally the right time for us to return to this project for another research and development, this time one week at Poplar Union and New Wolsey and one week at the National Theatre Studio, supported by Arts Council England.

We have one Deaf and one hearing actor playing Macbeth and one Deaf and one hearing actor playing Lady Macbeth, and we are discovering exciting ways to use the four actors and two languages (signed and spoken) to delve deeply into the psychology of these characters and the fracturing within them. We’re particularly exploring grief, trauma, ambition and power.

Joining the cast this time around is Oliver Alvin-Wilson playing Macbeth alongside Stephen Collins. Erin Siobhan Hutching and Sophie Stone both return as Lady Macbeth, with support from Vilma Jackson who stepped in for Sophie for a few days this week while she was off filming for the BBC!

Jennifer K. Bates continues to direct, this time with support from Ben Spiller (dramaturg and the fountain of knowledge for all things Shakespearean), Brian Duffy (BSL consultant and genius at making things visual) and Rachel Sampley (our favourite long time collaborator, lighting designer and technical manager).

Many thanks to Poplar Union and New Wolsey for having us last week. Tomorrow we head to the National Theatre Studio!

Images by David Monteith-Hodge
Full gallery available to view here on Facebook

BBC World Service interview with Erin Siobhan Hutching & Hermon Berhane

BBC World Service's Weekend reporter Molly Guiness chatted to People of the Eye actors Erin Siobhan Hutching and Hermon Berhane in rehearsals for the show. The final performance this Spring is at Nottingham Playhouse on Saturday 7th April. 

Listen here (at 40 min 25 seconds in)

Audiogram of a short section of the interview

Written Transcript

Host: You’re listening to Weekend from the BBC World Service. It’s 5.46 GMT. Now when Erin Siobhan Hutching’s older sister Sarah was diagnosed as deaf, her parents were given conflicting advice about the best way to educate her. Well, now Erin has written a two-woman play based on her family’s experience. The play, People of the Eye, is partly performed in sign language. They are part of a theatre company called The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble and they are performing around the UK at the moment.

Weekend’s Molly Guiness went into one of their rehearsals.

Erin: This is a play called People of the Eye and it’s an autobiographical story based on my family’s experiences when my sister was born deaf. So, my parents were told not to use sign language, which was common advice which was given in the 80s and is still even given now, but fortunately they received other advice saying that sign language was something that they should try. So, the story that we’ve created mirrors their journey as they learnt about sign language and the Deaf world and Deaf culture, and how that informed my relationship with my sister.

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(Section of the performance from rehearsal. Elizabeth – the mother – is played by Erin Hutching. Michael – the father – is played by Hermi Berhane)

Elizabeth (singing): The bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain (sounding increasingly worried and getting louder and louder), the bear went over the MOUNTAINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN……..

Elizabeth: She really loves those dolls. She’s so engrossed in them.

Michael: Yes. So focused! Such a focused child.

Elizabeth: Well that’s good! You know, a good attention span!

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Molly: This idea that learning sign language impinges your ability to speak, is that nonsense?

Erin: The reason for thinking that is that the time that is spent learning sign language could be focused on learning to speak. However, there have been many conflicting studies saying that children should have access to language as early as possible and actually the delay in access to language is really what affects children’s ability to access, you know, the world itself. So there’s a recent study that I was reading that was saying that most audiologists and doctors do agree that it is preferable for deaf children to have sign language and speech at an early age.

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(Section of the performance from rehearsal. Elizabeth – the mother – is played by Erin Hutching. Michael – the father – is played by Hermi Berhane. The stage directions for radio are read by Jennifer Fletcher)

*Sound of hands clapping

*Sound of person coughing

Elizabeth: Hello sweetie. HELLO SWEETIE!

*Sound of glass breaking

Stage Directions: Michael and Elizabeth look behind them and then turn back to the child who has not reacted or moved at all.

Michael: (playfully) Daddy’s coming to get you!

A production shot from People of the Eye, photo credit David Monteith-Hodge

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Molly: Erin’s sister Sarah is played by Hermi Berhane, who also plays her father and a doctor and several other characters. On stage, as you’ve heard, she uses her voice but she felt more comfortable speaking to me through a sign language interpreter.

Hermi (through SLI): So I actually grew up as a hearing child and when I was 7 I became deaf. So first I was taught speech. There was a lot of focus on that. And I learnt sign language a lot later actually, when I was 12. And that’s really when I found my identity.

Molly: How did you lose your hearing?

Hermi: I don’t know. We never found out. It wasn’t just me. I have a twin sister and we both lost our hearing at the same time. And I have a little brother who is deaf as well.

Molly: So sign language between you and your siblings must be an incredibly important part of your lives and the way you communicate with each other and your relationship?

Hermi: So, my little brother didn’t bother too much with sign language. He went to a mainstream school. But me and my twin sister went to a Deaf Boarding School for 6 years. There was sign language there constantly and I really fitted in. I felt really, sort of, at home as if it was my second family when I was at boarding school. But when we’d go home on weekends we had to speak again and our mum said you’re not allowed to sign when you’re at home. So me and my sister felt very comfortable talking to each other in sign language and that was a natural way for us to communicate. And slowly over time we sort of showed my mother, “This is the Deaf community; these are my friends from school; this is why we sign”. And she actually came to see our performance People of the Eye and at the end I asked my mum, “Well, what do you think then?” And she said, “It was powerful and had a serious impact on me and I do understand why the two of you growing up were choosing, almost, the Deaf world over the hearing world as you got older”. And I said I know I can’t blame you because you didn’t know any better. And when she came to the play she started learning sign language for the first time!

Host: Molly Guiness speaking to Hermi Berhane through a sign language interpreter. And before that, you heard Erin Siobhan Hutching. I suppose what that illustrates is that we are constantly learning more, aren’t we, about how we educate people particularly in the field of those where there are communication disabilities. I wonder if you had any thoughts.

Guest 1 (Bruno): I thought it was very interesting, this idea that you would actually prefer to use sign language if you had a choice, if you only lost your hearing at age 7. Clearly, to me, this shows that there are many different worlds that we don’t have access to that sometimes can be just as wonderful, just as complex, as the world we know. I was listening to it and thinking, well maybe it should be thought also as a great adventure to enter this world of sign language, with its own rules, with its own ways of feeling, ways of thinking even which are different to this way of thinking that we are using now.

Host: Roni, what struck you as you heard it?

Guest 2 (Roni): How wonderfully impressive the sisters are, and how much the different worlds that they live in, as Bruno said, and how the signing was such a part of their identity, and the split between how they had to speak at home and yet sign at school. And I wondered about the transition between those two worlds and how that affected them.

Host: And the reaction of Mother, having been to see the production was rather interesting.

Roni: Yes.

Host: Having thought that it can only be done one way. Maybe it’s time for a rethink.

Roni: Yes.

BBC Radio Essex Interview & Transcript

Writer/performer Erin Siobhan Hutching chatted with the lovely Tony Fisher at BBC Radio Essex ahead of our performance of People of the Eye at Harlow Playhouse on 23rd March 2018.

Listen now or read the transcript below. 

Tony: Well, coming soon to the Harlow Playhouse is a company called The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble who are bringing a show called People of the Eye. If you’d like to go along and see it, it’s the story really from writer/performer Erin Hutching who is with me this afternoon, who grew up with a Deaf sister and has been communicating with sign language all her life. But when her sister Sarah was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the age of 18 months doctors told her parents not to use sign language as they believed it would impair her ability to learn speech, which I found absolutely incredible. Well let’s get more details because I’m pleased to say Erin’s with me this afternoon. Good to see you, thanks for popping in to see us today Erin.

Erin: Thanks very much for having me.

Tony: Extraordinary, this. I had no idea that that was the kind of advice that was being given at that time.

Erin: It does surprise a lot of people, and I think that was one of the things that made me realise this would be such a fascinating story for people from all backgrounds is that you do think it’s an essential human right to be able to communicate but there was some debate amongst doctors as to whether the use of sign language was something that should be done. And actually sign language was suppressed for a long time from the 1800s right up until the present and now it’s being embraced as being really important for Deaf children.

Tony: And what was the thinking behind not using sign language?

Erin: So the thinking was that by using sign language you would stop the child from learning to speak but I think there was a lack of understanding that there is different degrees of deafness and that somebody who is very profoundly deaf wouldn’t be able to acquire language easily through speech alone or through lip reading. So as there has been more studies and more experience gained people have realised that actually sign language is a great asset and now it’s even used with hearing babies. You have parents learning baby sign because a baby can start to sign from the age of about five or six months so before they can speak they can tell you what they want through sign language.

Tony: That’s incredible, isn’t it? I’ve noticed that sign language is being used more now in everyday media as well. We see the options for subtitles or sign language, whatever you want, in various places. But also being a huge fan of CBeebies and CBBBC Justin Fletcher has done an awful lot with this, with sign language in his shows as well. Sot’s something that is a little bit more common now amongst young people, they’re growing up with it more now than they would have been when your sister was young.

Erin: That’s true, and I think that’s absolutely brilliant because having something that children are seeing all the time, it’s seen as acceptable, it’s seen as exciting and it’s seen as something that they should expect to be part of their everyday lives. And it really encourages people to want to learn it more as well because I think one of the most difficult things about deafness is isolation so being able to break down any of those barriers and encourage people to communicate in any way is a great thing. And learning sign language is so much fun.

Tony: Yeah, and that’s it. You’ve hit on it there. The idea that it’s fun. It’s not this chore that has to be learned. Let’s talk a little bit about the show then. How does the show work, exactly?

Erin: So I was back in New Zealand, where I’m from originally, about five years ago and my sister got married. And I was really inspired at her wedding. She had a sign language interpreter and half of the people there were deaf and half of them were hearing and it was just this really beautiful experience. And some of the members of my extended family remarked that they’d never really seen my sister’s personality before that, probably because they couldn’t communicate with her easily, and that sort of really struck me that this could be a really interesting story to make a piece of theatre out of. And you know I’ve been working as an actor for a long time but I had never thought about using sign language in my performance before. So, that was kind of the start of it, and I started to write a play which was about a family similar to mine that had had these experiences, and when I hooked up with Jennifer Bates who is the director of The DH Ensemble she really pointed out to me that actually it is an autobiographical story and it would be so much more interesting if I was honest about that. And so we actually include home movie footage of my family and myself as a baby from the 80s, and we start the piece with me talking directly to the audience. So it’s a very personal piece. And I have a wonderful Deaf actor called Hermi Berhane who also performs in it. So she takes on the role of my sister and a lot of other people in the story.

Tony: So what’s your sister’s reaction to this?

Erin: (Laughs) I mean, she’s really proud of me, but she’s not a very theatrical person herself. She’s much more straight-laced than I am. So in the beginning she thought the whole thing was a bit weird I think, but yeah, she’s really pleased that I’m doing something to help people see the beauty in sign language and spread that message.

Tony: Yeah, because the last thing you want to do with anything is to put fences up, and the moment that you start to say this is something different or difficult or awkward, people tend to stay away from it. Whereas, this is from the sounds of it, extraordinarily inclusive.

Erin: It is, and that was our aim, to make it a shared experience so we could have Deaf, hearing, hard of hearing, and people of all backgrounds to come along. And the major feedback we’ve had from people who have seen it is that they can relate to it in some way. Because the themes are about family, they’re about isolation and communication, it really works for anybody who’s experienced any kind of exclusion for any reason and that’s basically all of us I think.

Tony: Yes. It’s interesting as well because growing up with your sister it must have become sort of second nature how you communicate and not many people have that, do they, that closeness that you guys must have had growing up.

Erin: Exactly. We made up our own sign language actually, because it wasn’t enough that we could communicate just with the two of us in sign language because our mum could understand that so we made up a separate one that was just for us, like a secret language.

(Tony laughs)

And I think it did make us very close because I’m a little bit younger than her but she relied on me a lot for interpreting for her and so that sort of brought another dimension to our relationship.

Tony: Yeah, and the acting side for you then, because you’re the actor of the family I take it?

Erin: I am. (Laughs) 

Tony: So when did that all start for you?

Erin: I think, well I’ve been interested in acting since I was about 7 years old. We grew up in Singapore and I really got into acting when I was living there. My dad’s a bit theatrical himself, he’s an English teacher so I think that’s sort of where it came from and given another chance he might have gone into that. But I do think me being so comfortable expressing myself physically using sign language has had a big part to play in it because I do a lot of Shakespeare, I do a lot of physical theatre and I think that I’ve always been very comfortable working with my body in that way.

Tony: You mentioned earlier on about being honest in theatre. There’s a lot of that around now, isn’t there? There’s very much ‘heart on the sleeve’ productions going out there and I think people are appreciating – I don’t know quite what’s in the air at the moment, whether it’s because we’re living in this world of fake news and an awful lot of gloss over the top of what’s real, that when people see something from the heart, they kind of embrace it. Are you finding that as an actor?

Erin: Yeah I would definitely agree and I think that people – you know, you need to really trust your audience, because people can recognise when something is real and when it isn’t and when it comes from a place of truth, and they do really appreciate that honesty when we live in a world where we’re not sure what we can trust. When you really see somebody on stage speaking to you and telling you very personal things, I think it touches people in a different way that you don’t get from glossy movies and things which don’t necessarily have that truth at their heart.

Tony: It must be great though, taking this, because this is very close to your heart, isn’t it? Taking it out there.

Erin: Well it was absolutely terrifying I have to say, at the beginning. We did it at the Edinburgh Fringe for a month, so by the end of the month I think I really got to the point where I was not absolutely terrified every single time I went on stage because it’s very exposing when you’re like, okay, this is not a character I’m playing, this is me.

Tony: Yes, I mean the Edinburgh Fringe is a great place to do it though, isn’t it because it’s not for the faint hearted. How did you find the whole experience?

Erin: We found it really challenging but also really positive. So, at the beginning when we went up we had done the play a couple of times before, we’d done a run in London which had gone really well but when we first got to Edinburgh – it’s just so intimidating to see the thousands of other shows that are on. And it’s like you’ve got this little baby that you’ve worked so hard on, and you turn up and there’s everyone else with their little baby as well and you know, you really want people to like it and you want to get an audience. We were really lucky because we went with Northern Stage which is a theatre company from Newcastle and so they have a curated program and when you’re with their program, some audiences who are familiar with it trust them to choose shows that will be good, so we were able to go under their banner and get some support from them which really helped. But yeah, it’s definitely not an experience I’d recommend unless people feel they’re really ready to do it. It’s a lot of fun but it is terrifying and can be expensive!

Tony: (Laughs) Well yeah. We have quite a few performers, actors and musicians and comedians too, talking about the Fringe saying exactly that. You’ve got to really believe in what you’re taking there.

Erin: Yeah absolutely, and you’ve got to have a bit of a tough skin because you are doing to maybe have some – we were lucky that we didn’t have any shows with just five people in them but that does happen. You know, you can have very few audience members and there are a lot of people who write reviews who maybe aren’t that experienced in reviewing theatre – a lot of blogs – and some of them are great and some of them less so, and so sometimes the criticism can be very harsh so you just have to be a bit tough I think.

Tony: Yeah, I think most actors are quite tough, but as you say they’re tough if it’s other people’s stuff they’re doing because it’s down to them. Whereas if you’re acting and it’s your own stuff you’re doing as well…..

Erin: It’s really hard not to take it personally in that situation…..

Tony: Yeah exactly, because you’re carrying the whole lot around. So whereabouts in New Zealand are you from?

Erin: I’m from Christchurch originally.

Tony: Yeah?

Erin: Yeah, that’s where we had the big earthquake about six years ago.

Tony: Of course. Because I love New Zealand. I’ve been a couple of times to New Zealand. And the first time I went we toured the north and the south island, and one thing I found amazing – and this is quite a few years ago now – is how cheap it is to stay in the little motels in New Zealand.

Erin: Oh okay. Is it?

Tony: It’s really cheap!

Erin: That’s good to know.

Tony: I mean, I’m going back to the ‘90s now so I don’t know whether things have got more expensive, but if you want to see the island, and get around, just staying from motel to motel and just driving around is actually a lot cheaper than you might imagine.

Erin: It’s a great way to see the country, driving around. My boyfriend is British, and I took him back at the end of last year, and he absolutely loved the experience. He’s a photographer so being able to see the beauty of New Zealand –

Tony: Oh, yeah!

Erin: We went everywhere driving round the country, it was really wonderful.

Tony: I can never get over the fact that wherever you’re staying, you get up in the morning and there’s a mountain behind you.

Erin: (Laughs) Yeah, basically.

Tony: Do you….you know…oh there’s a mountain over there! And then you go a bit further and there’s a beach. All to yourself. There’s nobody else on the beach.

Erin: Yeah, where my parents live in the centre of Christchurch, within a 10, 20 minute drive I could get to the mountains, I could get to the beach, I could get to a lake, basically anything that you would want to…

Tony: And that’s why there’s all the creative people come from New Zealand, because there’s all this space to be creative in! Not enough venues, unfortunately!

Erin: And then we all move to London!

Tony: Exactly! You take all that calmness with you and you bring it over. That’s the best thing all round. It’s so good to see you today. Now if people want to come along and see the show, when’s it all happening?

Erin: So, we are doing the 23rd March at Harlow Playhouse and then we’ll be off for another couple of dates which are in different parts of the country.

Tony: Lovely, so Harlow’s the place to go. Tickets are available right now, by the way, from the Harlow Playhouse website or at the box office themselves as well. So, how big a tour is this for you? How far are you taking it?

Erin: So, this section of it, we’re only doing three venues this time. We did our big UK tour in the Autumn of last year, so we were at Battersea Arts Centre in London then we went around to about 6 or 7 other venues, so this was just a little add on. If people keep wanting to book the show, we’ll keep doing it!

Tony: Fantastic. Well I do wish you all the very best with it.

Erin: Well thank you very much.

Tony: Are you easing in other work alongside all this then?

Erin: Yes, I am. Because I’ve been working on this show for a while now. So the company – The DH Ensemble – we’re currently working on a children’s show which we’re very excited about. It’s an adaptation of a children’s book called Mathilda and the Orange Balloon because we think there’s just not enough theatre that’s accessible for young people, for very young children. And we’re also working on our own version of Macbeth, which hopefully we’ll be touring next year.

Tony: Right. That’s not for children I take it?

Erin: (Laughs) That’s definitely not for children!

Tony: Because that I would pay good money to see. The Scottish Play for children!

Erin: I’m sure it’s been done!

Tony: (Laughs) I bet there is somewhere down the line. A pleasure Erin, thank you for your time this afternoon.

Erin: Thank you for having me.

Tony: Erin Hutching, my special guest this afternoon. Don’t miss it – it’s The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble brining the play People of the Eye which is coming to Harlow Playhouse. Tickets are available right now by the way if you want to go along and see that.

Images from Freshly Scratched, in collaboration with Battersea Arts Centre

Earlier this year, we invited artists to apply to test out new ideas for exciting new work which is accessible to D/deaf, hard of hearing and hearing audiences. The sold out event in October was a rare and much needed opportunity for accessible work to be given an opportunity for early development and feedback.

The artists: Sarah Warren, Matthew Gurney & Adam Bassett, Rachael Merry, Sophie Woolley, Kevin Walker (SignKid), Ruth Montgomery. 

BBC Radio Oxford Interview & Transcript

Listen to our writer/performer Erin Siobhan Hutching do another radio interview for People of the Eye (TYPED TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW BELOW)

This time she talks to BBC Oxford's Kat Orman ahead of our show at Arts at the Old Fire Station tomorrow night, the last stop on this leg of the tour!

Interview starts at 1:07:00
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05m102q#play

Book tickets to People of the Eye: https://oldfirestation.org.uk/whats-on/

TRANSCRIPT OF RADIO INTERVIEW:

Kat Orman: I love the theatre, however theatre isn’t always accessible for those who are deaf, or indeed hard of hearing. Writer and performer Erin Siobhan Hutching wants to change this. Unable to go to the theatre with her Deaf sister, she’s now written her own play that can be enjoyed by everyone and she’s here. Erin, good morning.

Erin: Good morning.

Kat: Nice to have you here. So, tell me a little bit about your sister, because she’s….is she older than you?

Erin: Yes, she is. So she’s three years older than me so by the time I was born she had been diagnosed as deaf although it did take a little while. My parents knew that there was something going on but they took her to the doctor many many times, took her to see the nurse, and they said no, no she’s fine, and then finally she was diagnosed at about 18 months. So by the time I came along, the family was learning sign language so I learnt it as a baby.

Kat: And this was in New Zealand?

Erin: Yes, in New Zealand, where I’m from originally.

Kat: So, what was life like growing up with a profoundly deaf sister?

Erin: I mean, I suppose, for me it just seemed “normal” – in inverted commas – because we talked about this when we were developing the play because children just think that what they experience is what everybody experiences. So, my family was bilingual, we communicated in spoken English and in sign language. I was constantly, from a very young age, being taken to speech therapy with my sister so I started to learn to speak at about ten months in full sentences which was very creepy I’m sure. (Both laugh) But I was just surrounded by it all the time so I suppose in a way it brought Sarah and I much closer together – Sarah is my sister – but also I sort of benefitted from the things she had to do like learn sign language, have speech therapy. And it drew us together. My mum tried to make it a game so that she wouldn’t feel left out and so that she wouldn’t feel like she had to be different so everything she did I had to do as well.

Kat: I suppose, even as her younger sibling you felt fiercely protective over her, because being profoundly deaf there are challenges in life.

Erin: Yeah, absolutely. I have another sister as well, a much older sister, she’s twelve years older than me, and we’re both – well I mean we’re all very protective of each other – but I do particularly remember a few incidents where Sarah might have been teased by kids on the street and my other sister Tracey and I very much stood up for her. And some of that has actually made it into the play!

Kat: Yeah, so we’ll talk about the play in a couple of moments’ time. But I’m fascinated to know actually not only how you decided to sort of come from New Zealand because I know that you had quite a fantastic buoyant career in film and television over in New Zealand but you came, you’re based in London right now.

Erin: Yes, I’m based in London, yeah that’s right.

Kat: So was acting something that you always wanted to do? I mean did you even think that you would be pursuing life as a playwright?

Erin: No, I mean I’ve always been very interested in writing and I’ve always done very well in English and things like that, but acting was always where my heart was, and I actually grew up between New Zealand and Singapore, and in Singapore started to pursue acting at secondary school. And then I moved to Australia after I’d finished drama school in New Zealand and that’s where I started working as an actor. Mostly always focused on theatre, that’s always been my first love, but really interested in film and TV as well.

Kat: Why did you feel actually that you would like to come to London and be based here because I’d imagine there’s a lot of work in New Zealand, there’s a lot of work in Australia.

Erin: I mean there is, but it is more difficult. To make a living as an actor in Melbourne where I was living, it’s much more difficult to get your day to day….

Kat: Unless you go into a long running soap like Neighbours…..

Erin: Exactly, yes. A lot of theatre work is unpaid, a lot of very good professional actors still have a day job and work in the evenings, unpaid work. And of course that happens here but to a lesser extent. There’s a lot more work here that you can get – you know, commercials and corporate work and theatre in education, there’s lots of things that can keep actors going that we don’t have so much of in New Zealand.

Kat: How did you feel though, leaving your sister, because ultimately you were going to pursue a life of acting, the thing that you wanted to do the most, but you were leaving your sister who you were incredibly close to.

Erin: I mean it’s very difficult leaving my whole family, I’m very close to all of them, but I guess that’s always been part of – maybe it’s something to do with the New Zealand ethos – we all travel and we like to live overseas. And my mum is actually Irish so she had done the opposite when she was about my age, she had gone to live in New Zealand. So yes, very difficult and I try and get home as much as I can but I mean Sarah’s very, she’s done incredibly well in her life, she’s very independent, she has a wonderful job and family so I knew that I wasn’t leaving her to be alone or anything like that.

Kat: So, with this idea, because I imagine it’s always been in the back of your mind, having a profoundly deaf sister, that there isn’t then the accessibility for a profoundly deaf person so go to the theatre, with their family, friends, loved ones etc and enjoy and have the same experience as a hearing person.

Erin: Yes, absolutely. And interestingly enough, it didn’t occur to me how much it should be happening until I moved over here because I think that Britain is a little bit ahead in that I had never seen an interpreted performance before I came over here. I had seen some captioned performances but I think the culture of that is a bit more advanced over here. So once I’d seen that there are a few companies making that sort of work it really hit home to me –

Kat: - but there are only a few –

Erin: - only a few, only a handful. I mean, it’s improving, it’s certainly improving because I know the Arts Council is really encouraging people to think more about accessibility but there’s still only a handful of us that are making work that’s absolutely on an equal basis for Deaf and hearing audiences, so they might not have the same experience but it will be equal. There’s a lot of companies who are really doing their best to make their work accessible but that really happens at the end of the process rather than as part of the artistic –

Kat: And how do you do that? How do you make it accessible for all?

Erin: So we use lots of different means. We have lots of video projections in the piece. We’ve worked with a Deaf filmmaker called Samuel Dore and he worked with our hearing soundscape artist to create visuals that represent sound to him in either a literal or an abstract way. We have creative captions that try to represent the tone and emotion of what is being said rather than just the content. And we do integrate sign language into the piece as well. So there’s quite a few different things going on but they’re all used to tell the story as well as to provide accessibility.
Kat: And we’ll hear more about the play actually, because it’s on for one night only at the Old Fire Station tomorrow night but we’ll talk about the story. And I suppose it’s a celebration, a tribute to your sister, a celebration of her and family I should imagine, but we’ll hear more in just a couple of moments time. My guest in the studio, Erin Siobhan Hutching who has written a play, which as I say we’ll hear about, an amazing tribute to her profoundly Deaf sister, which is on at the OFS tomorrow night for one night only! We’ll hear more from Erin in just one moment.

Song plays

Kat: It’s BBC radio Oxford and a very good morning to you. My guest in the studio is Erin Siobhan Hutching and she’s an actor and she’s also brought a play, which I think is an incredible tribute actually, to her profoundly deaf sister who resides actually in New Zealand. But she’s bringing it to the Old Fire Station in Oxford for one night only tomorrow night. But the great thing about this is, it’s not only a tribute to a sister and a celebration of her life and I would imagine, the challenges that she’s gone through, but this is accessible to a Deaf audience as well.
Erin: It is. It’s accessible to Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing so we really want to welcome everybody into the space and have them have an equal experience.

Kat: Is this something that you want to specialise in?

Erin: Yes, and I didn’t know that it was, but once I found The DH Ensemble which is this most incredible company. They started working in 2013 with the Royal Shakespeare Company actually doing a week long project exploring how you can translate Shakespeare’s text into sign language, so that was before I joined the company –

Kat: That must be very difficult!

Erin: Well, we’re actually currently working on a production of Macbeth and it is very difficult! (They laugh) Because there’s so much depth to the language. So trying to translate that into a visual language is very interesting and time consuming.
Kat: So what about the story then, of this particular play?
Erin: So when I started writing it, it started off as a series of vignettes about Deafness, the Deaf world, and different characters, and as time went on, I did a lot of research, I talked to lots of people, I interviewed my family and lots of other people who had experienced similar stories and it sort of started to come together as a more cohesive narrative about a family. And then finally, once I’d found The DH Ensemble, and started workshopping it with another actor, a Deaf actor, so there’s two of us in it, it finally got to the point where the director said you know, “This is autobiographical. It’s about your family. I think it’s really important that you own that.” So that’s how the play starts, I say, “This is about my family.”

Kat: Interesting as well, interviewing your family, because sometimes things are said in that kind of process, in those kind of moments, that you’ve never considered before, perhaps you’ve never heard your family say before.

Erin: Yeah. It’s very interesting talking to my mum, because we have a very close relationship and she’s always been very open with me but there’s certain things that I’d never thought to ask her, and finding out how she’d felt….

Kat: What were those things? And what were her answers?

Erin: I mean, she’d never met a deaf person before. She’d recently moved to New Zealand, with my Dad, because she’s Irish, and she didn’t have much of a support network in New Zealand and she had never met a deaf person before, she didn’t know anything about it, and she was told by the doctor not to learn sign language because that was common advice that they told people in those days. But fortunately she was also given advice that she should learn it, and she went and independently explored that because she thought, well I really need have a way to communicate with my child. But for her and my father it was a whole new world that they had never had anything to do with before, and they really sort of struggled to find the right information, they didn’t have the internet back then, to find support networks.

Kat: And even once they’d got that diagnosis, because you said your sister was diagnosed at 18 months, which is very, very late on, considering the kind of processes, the hearing tests that we have in hospitals today, certainly here in Oxfordshire, it seems a very very long slog and a struggle to try and get your baby diagnosed!

Erin: Yes, they told me stories about how they used to – they had suspected something was wrong, they thought that perhaps she was autistic, or that maybe she was deaf, they didn’t know but they noticed that she wasn’t responding and she wasn’t talking and she wasn’t really making sounds, so they would run up behind her and bang things together. My dad is this very sort of tall, gangly man and I can just picture him with saucepans, running up behind this baby and it is sort of quite funny when you think about it, but that was how little they were taken seriously by the doctors that they had to keep doing that themselves. And they really noticed that she didn’t respond to fireworks, and she didn’t notice when there were lots of loud sounds. But they would have a nurse come around just to check on the babies as they did in those days and Sarah was very alert so she’d turn around and look at her so the nurse said, oh, she’s fine, but eventually they managed to get the tests done and the doctor was mortified to realise that not only is she deaf, she’s profoundly deaf.

Kat: So, for people who are going to come and see People of the Eye at the Old Fire Station tomorrow night, of course it will be – the fantastic thing is that it’s accessible as we said for a Deaf audience as well as for an audience that have their hearing, but what do you hope that people will take away – what message? Is there a message that you would like people to take away?

Erin: I mean, what I would really like people to take away – it’s not necessarily an easy watch, it does explore ideas of isolation, but it does also explore the flip side of that, the connection that can be made and the relationship that my sister and I have, and our family has, because of these difficulties that we’ve experienced, and the celebration of Deaf culture. So I think I would hope if they’ve never met a deaf person before or they’ve never experienced sign language that this will be an introduction. We’re not trying to be preachy or educational but a lot of people have told us that it is absolutely fascinating to them, that they didn’t know that there is this whole world out there, that actually is a culture, not a disability. And that they might just have a little bit more empathy as they go about their everyday lives.

Kat: That’s a nice way of thinking about it, isn’t it? As a culture, not a disability. And I would imagine that when you get good feedback about this particular play that has been something that you’ve done with love, as a tribute – what’s your sister called, by the way?

Erin: Sarah.

Kat: As a tribute to Sarah, so when you get positive feedback that’s fantastic. But I would imagine that the feedback that you got from your sister meant the most to you. What’s she said about it? Has she seen it?

Erin: Well, she hasn’t been able to see it live because she’s in New Zealand with her young family now so she can’t make it over here, but she has seen video recordings of all the stages along the way, and I will be sending her the one of this leg of the tour because the show changes all the time. And I think she’s found it – she says she’s really proud of me. She’s not a theatre person herself not having had a lot of opportunities to go to theatre growing up but I think she’s really pleased that we’re sharing this message and she’s really excited by the idea that hopefully people will be learning a bit more about Deaf identity.

Kat: Well, I really do hope it’s a full house for you tomorrow at the Old Fire Station.

Erin: Thank you very much.

Kat: So, people can get tickets on the door, still a few available?

Erin: Yes, I think they can still get tickets on the door and they can book online through the Old Fire station website as well.

Kat: So, People of the Eye starts, when do people have to be in their seats?

Erin: Well, it is half past 7, so I think in their seats by 25 past would be nice.

Kat: Well it’s lovely to meet you, thank you very much indeed for coming in.

Erin: Thank you so much for having me.

Kat: And good luck with it – because this is the last date for the leg of this particular tour but then you’re off on tour with it.

Erin: Yes, we’re off on tour with it next year, off to Nottingham and a few other venues but this is the last one for 2017.

Kat: Erin, thank you very much indeed. Nice to meet you.

BBC Radio Leicester Interview & Transcript

Our writer/performer Erin Siobhan Hutching was interviewed by Martin Ballard for BBC Radio Leicester ahead of our show at Attenborough Arts Centre (TRANSCRIPT BELOW)

Listen to the interview here - starting at 39 minutes into the program. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05l1wg8#play

Martin:
Now, after a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of Northern Stage’s program at Summerhall in 2016, the DH, or Deaf and Hearing, Ensemble, are bringing People of the Eye to the Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester tomorrow as part of an extensive tour this autumn. Writer/performer Erin Siobhan Hutching has created a fascinating story about a family navigating their way through the Deaf world based on her own experiences and I’m pleased to say she joins me now. Erin, good evening to you.

Erin: 
Hello, how are you?

Martin: 
I’m good thank you. Just tell me a little bit about your experience particularly with your sister.

Erin: 
Yes, sure. My sister is profoundly deaf, and she is three years older than me, so I grew up using sign language so there’s home movies of me learning to sign as I learnt to speak at about 10 months of age, and that’s what inspired me to create this piece.

Martin: 
And it is interesting because the doctors told your parents not to use sign language initially didn’t they?

Erin:
They did. It’s very common advice – it was in the 80s when my sister was born but actually still is now and has been refuted by lots of studies which show that being bilingual is obviously beneficial for most children regardless of whether they are deaf or hearing. But yeah, it was something they were told, and fortunately they were also given other advice and had the opportunity to learn sign language, so that was advice that they disregarded, and that worked really well for us to have Spoken English and sign language in the family.

Martin:
Before we talk about People of the Eye, how much of your relationship with your sister, would it have been different without sign language.

Erin:
Absolutely. I think so. I mean,there are lots of families in which a Deaf member of the family might feel quite isolated or have communication difficulties. Growing up, I didn’t realise that there were families that maybe experienced that. But for me, having that language with my sister, we even had our own secret sign language that we made up when we were children (both laugh) something that just the two of us knew so we could get away with saying all sorts of things and the adults wouldn’t know. So I think it really brought us closer together, and of course I interpreted a lot for her in many situations so that brought another a layer of closeness but also complexity to our relationship.

Martin: 
There’s an awful lot of this story in People of the Eye then isn’t there?

Erin:
There is. I mean I started off writing a story about a fictional family that sort of closely resembled mine but then at some point along the way the director said well, you know, look it really is about your family so you might as well just accept that and make it an autobiographical piece. And we even use real-life home movie footage of my family in the show.

Martin:
Now this isn’t just exclusively a performance for the Deaf and hard of hearing, is it? This is a performance that everybody can come to and get something from.

Erin: 
Yes, absolutely. So we’re very much a sort of mainstream theatre company and we make work for a mainstream theatre audience but we want to also welcome a Deaf and hard of hearing audience in on an equal basis. So rather than having an interpreter stand to the side or captions which might feel quite divorced from the action, everything – you know, the access – is in from the very beginning of the creative process for us, so we think about that and we let it inform the way that we actually make the work so that everyone might not get the same experience but they will be treated equally.

Martin:
And, it was devised or directed by founder member Jennifer Bates who lead Solar Bear theatre company’s Deaf Youth Theatre for a few years, and parts of the piece devised with Sophie Stone who people might know because she appeared in two episodes of Doctor Who of course.

Erin: 
She did! Sophie is fabulous. She’s a lead artist in our company. So there’s myself, Jennifer and Sophie, and there’s another wonderful actor called Stephen Collins, and we run The Deaf & Hearing Ensemble but we also work with freelance artists. And Sophie was a very big part of the process for me. She jumped on board with the project when it was really just an idea with a bare minimum of a script and her creative experience and her personal experience as a Deaf person really helped me to make the work.

Martin:
Now, you’ve done three dates I think already, but you’re here in Leicester tomorrow. How’s it been received so far?

Erin: 
Really well. We’ve been really excited because all the places that we’ve been to, we’ve not toured to before as a company so it’s been lovely to find a new audience. We were in Suffolk last night in a place called Lowestoft and we had a really gorgeous audience and quite a few Deaf people came along so we were really pleased about that. It’s really interesting when you’ve made something for the Fringe Festival, and we’ve done it several times in London, to bring it to different venues and see how it’s received. I think it is really nice coming out of London and making sure that we can really reach a wider audience.

Martin: 
So it’s the Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester tomorrow then. For anybody who’s listening whose wondering, “What can I expect to see or hear” just sell the show for us. Tell us what to expect.

Erin: (Laughs) That’s always such a difficult question. Okay, well, there’s two performers in the piece. It’s a really intimate, immersive experience. You might even be asked to join in a little bit but nothing too scary. We use spoken English, we use sign language which is integrated, we have creative captions which really represent the tone and emotion of what’s being said as well as the content, and we also have a lot of soundscape and video projection, so all of these things come together to tell the story of a family and their journey into finding a new language and culture.

Martin: 
Well it sounds fantastic. Thank you for bringing it to Leicester. I’m sure it will be a major success. Erin, thank you for talking to us.

Erin:
Thank you very much for having me.

Martin:
Thank you. Erin Siobhan Hutching. That is the play, the performance, project, call it what you will. It’s at the Attenborough Arts Centre tomorrow. It sounds absolutely fantastic. It’s called People of the Eye. If you’ve got time, go along and see it.

BBC Radio Lincolnshire Interview & Transcript

Recently we visited Stamford Arts Centre with our play People of the Eye. Ahead of the show, writer/performer Erin Siobhan Hutching was interviewed by Carla Greene from BBC radio Lincolnshire (TRANSCRIPT BELOW)

To listen, jump to 2:11:11

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05kt7sg

WRITTEN TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW:

Carla: Now our next guest is part of the DH Ensemble (Deaf & Hearing Ensemble) and has written a play People of the Eye inspired by true life events, coming to Stamford later this week. It’s already had a very successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of Northern Stage’s program at Summerhall in 2016 and Erin Hutching wrote the play inspired by true life events and joins me now. Good afternoon Erin.

Erin: Hello Carla, how are you?

Carla: I’m well thank you, how are you?

Erin: I’m very well, thanks for having me.

Carla: No problem at all. First of all, I mean this is really interesting, what I’ve been reading about this – the story you’ve written is inspired by your own life, really, isn’t it? So just tell us a bit more about the story behind it.

Erin: Yeah, sure. So, People of the Eye is based on my family’s experiences when my sister was born deaf, and it is about how my parents, you know, for a couple of years had suspicions that something was amiss but were told by doctors that everything was fine. They were eventually told that she was deaf and then were told not to learn sign language because that was common advice given in those days which fortunately they disregarded. And we all learnt sign language and as a family it’s about what that gave us and the relationship that my sister and I have which is strengthened by having this, sort of, special bond. And, yeah, the play itself – I went back to New Zealand a few years ago to my sister’s wedding which was an incredible celebration interpreted by this sign language interpreter. It was attended by Deaf and hearing. And it was the first time that I’d really seen my family come together in that way and that I realised the performative beauty of sign language and I thought that it’s strange that I’m a theatre maker and for all this time I’ve never thought about putting sign language into it. So that was where the inspiration came from.

Carla: And you say that the advice given to your family at the time was not to learn sign language. Why was that?

Erin: Well they used to think that learning sign language would interfere with a child’s ability to learn to speak, which current studies have disproved because being bilingual, whether it’s a spoken language or a visual language is beneficial to anybody. And, in fact, there’s been studies recently that really show that having a visual language improves cognitive function, as well as having a spoken language. But it’s actually still advice given today to some parents who have cochlear implants for their children, partially because the amount of rehabilitation that is required to learn to hear with a cochlear implant is quite a lot, there’s a lot of work that needs to go into it, so there are concerns that being able to use sign language would distract from that. But that’s not been my experience and many of the children that I know who have cochlear implants who have both languages have really benefited from it. It’s really an individual choice and I would never presume to tell anybody what they should do, but that’s just been my family’s experience.

Carla: And what was it about life growing up under those circumstances that made you put pen to paper and write about this?

Erin: Well I think what, sort of, made me realise that it would be a fascinating story to watch is this idea of the relationship that developed between my sister and I when I had to interpret for her a lot. We also had our own secret sign language. It sort of really gave us a very close bond. But also there were many struggles and frustrations because being deaf can be quite isolating especially in social situations, extended family situations or at school, things like that. And having witnessed that, that really gave me a degree of empathy for that experience as well as the fact that I benefitted so much from having knowledge of Deaf culture and sign language that I sort of felt like I wanted to do something to kind of, I guess, give something back and really tell the world what an amazing culture it is.

Carla: And what was your sister, Sarah is her name isn’t it….

Erin: Yeah, Sarah.

Carla: What was her reaction?

Erin: (laughs) Well, you know she’s very proud of me and she’s happy but she’s not into theatre at all so to her she sort of thinks that I do, I don’t know what she thinks I do really (both laugh), I think she thinks it’s all quite weird! So, yeah, she’s been very supportive but she’s a very sort of straight-laced, quite direct person so when I tried to ask her lots of in-depth questions about our childhood and what it felt like to be deaf, she was just sort of like, “I don’t know, I’m deaf, what else can I say?” But I think she’s quite pleased about it.

Carla: And you’re originally from New Zealand. Are you still based there or have you moved over here?

Erin: No, I’m based in London now, so I was really lucky to come over here and meet a company called The DH Ensemble (The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble) who were really interested in making this play with me. And I’d already been based in London for about two or three years at that point. So yeah, I’ve got an English partner now so we’ll see….but this is home at the moment.

Carla: It’s interesting that you said that even though you grew up of course with your sister and formed those relationships with your sister because she was deaf and you were interpreting for her, it’s interesting that you haven’t thought to either do something like this before or have sign, people doing sign language, using sign language, at your performances. Do you think that says something about society in general?

Erin: Absolutely. I mean, for me, I lived in, obviously New Zealand and then I lived in Australia for a while before I came here, and I’d never seen an interpreted performance. I’d never met a theatre company that had deaf actors in it. It was just something that I had absolutely never come across. And it was actually coming over to England where I think things are a little bit further ahead, that I became aware that that is something that is available and that you can have sign language interpreted performances. And that there are a few companies here who are doing really interesting work with Deaf actors and integrating sign language and I was just so excited by that. And I thought that this is something I really want to be part of. But it’s still quite new and in fact, we’re probably one of the only professional companies that makes work that’s really targeted at Deaf and hearing audiences equally and tries to bring an equal experience to both of those audiences but also recognises that the means of access, the captions and the sign language, can actually be a really intrinsic part of the art, of the artistic experience. And that if you start from that as a starting point, what you can make is really fascinating for both Deaf and hearing audiences.

Carla: Well thank you very much for chatting this afternoon. It’s really interesting what you’re saying and we’ll look forward to having the play here. It’s at Stamford Arts Centre on the 20th of November. So we’ll look forward to that.

Erin: It is. We're very excited. Thank you very much.

Carla: Thank you.

Video Transcript of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire interview about People of the Eye

Writer/performer Erin Siobhan Hutching is interviewed by Sue Marchant for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire