Deaf news: It’s Graeae vs Deafinitely Theatre in London!

I like Deafinitely Theatre, and I like Graeae Theatre company.

But which do I like best?

FIIIIGGGHHHHT!

Ok, so that was the most ridiculous Harry Hill inspired start to an article The Limping Chicken has seen yet, and our tribute to NME’s Blur v Oasis front page is nearly as guilty as that magazine of creating a blood feud for no other reason than to draw attention to ourselves.

But the really important bit is this.

Two deaf-friendly theatre companies this week have performances on in London.

And both Deafinitely’s Gold Dust and Graeae’s Reasons to be Cheerful are accessible to deaf audiences, with Gold Dust featuring sign language and speech, and Reasons to be Cheerful featuring fully integrated sign language and captioning (note: if you’re using the captions, you’re advised not to book seats in the first 5 rows).

Deafinitely Theatre’s Gold Dust is on at Soho Theatre (nearest tube Tottenham Court Road) from Wednesday 28th March to Saturday 31st March, and performances start at 7.30pm each night.

Info: A new play by Deafinitely Theatre, inspired by the history and lives of Deaf people in Birmingham and the Black Country. Directed by Paula Garfield. An old man dies leaving behind a son who never really knew him, but as the son holds the ashes close to his heart, he begins to understand more about the man he called dad. A funny and moving play about a father and son who found it difficult to communicate at the best to times, but when one is deaf and the other hearing, it made it almost impossible.

For more information, go to the Gold Dust page at the Soho Theatre website.

Graeae’s Reasons to be Cheerful meanwhile, is on at Hackney Empire on Wed 28 & Thu 29 March at 7.30pm, Fri 30 March at 8pm, Sat 31 March 2.30pm & 8pm, Sunday 1 April at 5pm.

Info: It’s 1979: Labour loses to the Tories, strikes rock the nation and Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3) climbs the charts. As the ultimate fans, Vinnie and his mates would do anything to see Dury at the Hammersmith Odeon, only the gig is sold out. But life has a habit of throwing strange things at you, and one night of frustration becomes something else entirely… Written by Paul Sirett and directed by Graeae’s Jenny Sealey, this acclaimed coming of age tale featuring Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ greatest hits such as “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll”, “Sweet Gene Vincent”, “Spasticus Autisticus” and “Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick” will fill theatres with raucous glee. ‘Ave it!

For more information and to book tickets, go to the Reasons to be Cheerful page on Hackney Empire’s website.

If you get to see one or both of them, enjoy! And do let us know what you thought.

We’ll leave you with a fantastic BSL introduction to Reasons to be Cheerful from deaf actor Stephen Collins: