Liam O’Dell: UK theatres need to be more proactive in their quest to be more deaf-friendly

After publishing last week’s article about an event on deaf mental health, the consensus of the comments underneath was particularly interesting. “Oh, what another missed opportunity to attend these event not knowing that it was being held,” one writes. Others shared the frustration that deaf people simply aren’t being given enough information about events or services which can benefit them.

As I read the State of Theatre Access 2019 report last week, which revealed that 161 out of 629 venues in the UK (26%) fail to share any access information on their websites, I found myself agreeing with the views of Stagetext board member Nina Thomas.

“What’s really disappointing about this report is that we know there are more theatres out there putting on captioned performances, but they’re falling at the first hurdle by not making that information available,” she says. Establishing that support is a positive step forward, but to avoid creating a feeling of tokenism or a lack of commitment, there has to be a level of engagement – of reaching out to the communities that will benefit from the change.

Add to this the finding that there were 29 fewer British Sign Language interpreted performances and 21 fewer captioned showings in the theatres audited in 2019 compared to 2017, and it becomes all the more concerning.

UK venues still have some way to go. As someone who regularly reviews London theatre alongside my weekly ramblings for The Limping Chicken, I’ve seen the highs and lows of accessible theatre. The National Theatre’s brilliant smart captioning glasses and The Old Vic’s new access improvements are just some of the great changes recently, while theatres requiring you to pay a deposit to make sure you return their temperamental headsets is one of the more ridiculous practices. I mean, it’s fairly unlikely that deaf theatregoers will see the stethoscope-like devices and think bloomin’ heck, that’s an absolute bargain.

For deaf people, there’s a reason why access information needs to be available online. As someone who lives outside of London, being told occasionally that you either need to ring a telephone number or go to the box office to book discounted access tickets don’t really work as options. Having one simple and easily accessible port of call not only benefits the venue, but every disabled theatregoer.

After all, accessibility should not be a game of hide and seek. It should not be the sole responsibility of disabled service users to both find out about and promote good service. As much as companies should learn the needs of these communities, they must also develop an understanding of how and where these groups communicate, and reach out to them. Not only is that proactive, but it places disabled people at the heart of these improvements – right where they should be.

Photo by Ollie Cole.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and blogger from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.