Deaf News: Manchester Deaf Centre works on fully accessible Words Weekend Festival

The Manchester Deaf Centre is to work on a new touring festival which hopes to “set a standard” by having all of its events fully accessible and BSL interpreted.

The Words Weekend, a spoken word festival first launched in Gateshead in December, will next take place at The Lowry in Manchester in March.

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Mastermind host John Humphrys and This Is Going to Hurt author Adam Kay are amongst those on the line-up, with over 50 sessions being staged across the three days.

Speaking to The Limping Chicken, Artistic Director Beth Gallimore said “diversity, accessibility and social inclusion are front and centre” in all that they do at Words Weekend.

“Our commitment to access provision begins with how we choose the venues we visit, how we price the festival, and through provided a BSL interpreter for every single event as standard.

“We have been very lucky to partner with Becoming Visible [and] Manchester Deaf Centre, and Words Weekend is an Unlimited Ally.

“Words Weekend travels around the UK; our first event was at Sage Gateshead in December 2019, next is The Lowry in Salford in March and then Bury St Edmunds in May.

“Our aim is to develop our access provision through a dialogue with our audiences and partners, in the hope to encourage a step-change in the literary events industry,” she said.

A quarter of the events taking place over the weekend will be free to attend, and the festival will have a “roaming interpreter” available to facilitate conversations throughout the venue.

The Words Weekend takes place from 27-29 March, with the festival moving to London later in the year.

Tickets and more information can be found online at the Words Weekend website.

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.