Royal Shakespeare Company: Deaf actor becomes first to understudy hearing principal

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company got in touch to tell me about a feat they were extremely proud of involving Deaf actor Charlotte Arrowsmith.

“There was a special moment during our Friday Shrew show last week, when Charlotte was called upon to understudy for Melody Brown’s Vincentia. This usually English speaking role was performed in BSL, with adjustments from the cast and production to factor that in.”

A hearing member of the audience commented,

“The clarity with which Charlotte conveyed Vincentia’s perplexed rage, frustration and disbelief in witnessing another taking on her name and household was apparent in every visual cue. What was equally incredible was how effortlessly the wider company adapted their performances to incorporate BSL and other visual cues during any interactions with Vincentia’s character. One could feel the sense of frustration in Charlotte’s performance of a woman unable to communicate her understanding of the truth to the world around her and cast off as ‘mad’ by all in her company, a clever piece of comic staging which further illustrated the power of BSL as a means of illuminating hidden layers of meaning in the text. This was diversity in action in every sense as well as a tangible illustration of just how close a bond this company share. I feel privileged to have witnessed it.“

As this is the first time a Deaf actor has been asked to understudy for a hearing principal, I spoke to Zoe Donegan, the lead producer of The Taming of the Shrew to find out more.

What challenges were there in translating the written/spoken text into BSL?

Once we had Charlotte on board it was really about who she wanted to work with on the translation, as different translators can work differently. She needed to be able to translate her vision for the performance.

What has the feedback been like for hearing audiences witnessing BSL within Shakespeare for the first time?

The feedback has been extraordinarily positive. Charlotte is such a brilliant and expressive actor that you realise how much you understand without words and how much BSL makes sense as a physical interpretation. Many people who have been in our audiences have never encountered BSL in any walk of life before, so for them to say it was so clear is a credit to Charlotte, and to the rest of the company for embracing it so brilliantly.

How important is it for RSC to represent deafness and disability on stage and how is this reflected in your work?

The RSC is a national company and it is our mission to ensure that Shakespeare is for everyone. It is therefore our responsibility to represent and include the diversity of the UK on our stages. Representation is vital for people to feel a connection to the story – you naturally embrace something more if you can see your own experiences within it.

What are RSC’s aspirations in terms of providing better access for deaf audiences and opportunities for deaf actors?

We are committed to providing assisted performances for each of our productions, providing a captioned performance for each production and multiple integrated BSL performances a year. We keep an eye on future options to make our performances even more accessible, and will be trialling the Difference Engine, an app which provides captioning to events, at three of the performances on our outdoor stage, The Dell, this summer. Just recently we trained two new Live Theatre Captioners who will be able to work on shows across the country as well as our own.

In terms of casting, the challenge now is how we can further develop opportunities for D/deaf actors within all our productions to ensure its not tokenistic.

After working with Charlotte first on Artistic Director Gregory Doran’s Troilus and Cressida in 2018, the Company has really embraced finding opportunities for d/Deaf actors and hope to continue to do so in future.

What have RSC discovered from their time working with Charlotte? Were there any surprises?

Of course! I think there were revelations and surprises in all areas of the organisation. Understanding what we do well and what we need to improve on to become more d/Deaf friendly was a big part of it. Relatively simple things can be put in place easily like ensuring we have a flashing light in place for technical rehearsals on stage so that Charlotte knows we are turning the lights out. And of course everyone in the building has enjoyed having Charlotte’s dog around. A revelation was trying to understand some of the challenges Charlotte faces within a company – having an interpreter for rehearsals and ensuring they are in the right position, how hard it is to learn the sign for her understudy parts, how isolating a conversation with many people in a busy noisy environment can be.

From an artistic point of view it was a further revelation when we realised what a Deaf actor brings to the role of Audrey and by default what that does to the audience’s relationship with the character of William. As Tom Dawze who plays William can sign a little, he was translating for the characters in the scenes with Audrey and Touchstone. This meant that when Audrey “drops” William our heart bleeds for him.

What advice would RSC give to any other theatre company wishing to become more accessible but not knowing how to take the first step?

Just do it! Talk to us, talk to Charlotte, talk to the actor you want to cast about what they will need. There is financial assistance out there for the extra help you or the actor may need with interpreters.

How did RSC ensure all of Charlottes access needs were met? Did you consult with anyone?

We talked to Charlotte. And we know there’s still more we can do. We ask for constant feedback and have made Charlotte aware we may get it wrong but you won’t know until you try. If you are waiting to be perfect and until you know everything, you’ll never do it.

To see a captioned or BSL Interpreted performance at the Royal Shakespeare Company view details below or log onto www.rsc.org.uk

Captioned performances:
Provoked Wife – Wed 14 August 1.30pm
The Taming of the Shrew – Sat 3 August 1.15pm
Venice Preserved – Fri 26 July 7.30pm, Wed 4 Sep 1.30pm
Measure for Measure – Thu 8 August 1.15pm, Wed 28 Aug 7.15pm
Crooked Dances – Sat 6 Jul 1.30pm
As You Like It – Sat 20 Jul, 1.15pm

Integrated BSL interpreted performances:
Crooked Dances – Tue 9 Jul 7.30pm
The Provoked Wife – Tue 23 Jul 7.30pm
The Taming of the Shrew – Wed 21 Aug 7.15pm

Photo credit Ikin Yum