Interview: Deaf actors William Grint and Bea Webster on ‘The Winter’s Tale’

After the coronavirus pandemic brought the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) production of The Winter’s Tale to a standstill before performances began, the play has now been repurposed into a film broadcast with British Sign Language (BSL) on Thursday.

The Limping Chicken’s Liam O’Dell spoke to actors Bea Webster and William Grint about their parts in the project, translating Shakespeare and producing work in a pandemic.

Liam: So The Winter’s Tale has been a long time coming because of the coronavirus. So the first question is: how does it feel now that it’s finally here?

Bea: Strange. Very, very, very strange. I’ve moved back to Glasgow, but I still feel like I just finished two days ago. You watch yourself on TV and cover your eyes!

William: I was really excited and then coronavirus stopped everything. It was really disjointing. We were so close to starting performances, then it was cut. We had to wait, but it was great to work closely with the RSC on lots of other projects, plus appearing on the BBC with it becoming a film. I had to try and adjust to having a camera instead of an audience. It was an amazing experience.

Bea: Yes, I was really disappointed to have no audience, but at the same time, I’m happy that we could still do a performance to show something that we worked hard for. We got to perform Shakespeare Snapshot for audiences outdoors, so it was still nice to be able to perform for a live audience! 

Liam: Does it feel the same? Because I know you said the audience is different because there’s no one in the room. Obviously, there’s people watching it on TV at home. Is that the same feeling?

William: On stage, with a full audience, I would have the energy from the audience. The audience gives me energy, it’s like an interaction between us. That’s the theatre experience. If I do a joke on stage, I can see the audience laughing and that means the connection is working. But now, there’s no audience, and I sign something funny and no one laughs…

Bea: I agree, it’s hard because you have to give energy to each other and support each other. For example, Erica Whyman [the director] wanted to get as close as possible to the theatre experience so we performed normally without an audience, and it was really weird! I’m the same as you, Will, I need that energy from the audience. It influences me. It’s why I prefer theatre to TV or films, because of the energy from the audience. It’s why I act – well, it’s one reason.

Liam: So this play – or film, even – sees Shakespeare translated into sign language. I wanted to ask about the process of translating Shakespeare into sign language. Where do you start? How does it work? Also, what impact does Shakespeare have in sign language?

William: Well, I think Shakespeare is very visual, so it is perfect for Deaf people. It’s very artistic, very physical. When I’m signing, it really feels like I’m taking straight from Shakespeare to BSL.

Bea: I went to a translation seminar, and one person said really, Shakespeare is more similar to BSL, sign language, than English. I agree. So, for example, William and I played Demetrius and Helena for ‘Shakespeare Snapshot’, and in rehearsals one of the actors who was directing us said, ‘I think the underlying meaning is sex, sex, sex’. So, l did it very visually, and the hearing people were shocked, but ‘that’s what it means!’. So, I think BSL helps hearing people understand.

Liam: Like a new meaning?

Bea: It’s the subtext, but people don’t catch it.

Will: Reading between the lines.

Liam: Because it changed from a theatre play to a film, what challenges or problems did you have with that? Because it’s not your normal play, it’s been changed to a film. What problems or challenges did you have?

Bea: I think [the biggest challenge] was social distancing. Last year, we were rehearsing The Winter’s Tale before COVID hit, and we could be physical and touch each other. When that was dropped, we didn’t know what to do at first. Deaf people like to touch. How do you convey the same meaning without touching?

Will: The process changed. We adapted it with the signing for the filmed version because the camera was a lot closer [than an audience member would be]. Covid changed everything really.

Liam: On Thursday there’s the signed version. Normally, sign language interpreted theatre is hard to find, plays are normally inaccessible for deaf people, normally there’s only one signed show, then it’s finished. So having a BSL broadcast is fantastic, right?

Bea: The original plan was for it to be fully integrated with Clare [Edwards]. I saw her in other RSC productions – As You Like It and Measure for Measure – two years ago and I was shocked at how well integrated it was, and by the other actors’ playing to Clare. There were lots of in jokes for the deaf audience, you could see the deaf audience laughing and the hearing audience wondering what was going on! But I’m really happy that deaf people can access the production on iPlayer for one year.

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The RSC’s The Winter’s Tale is available on BBC iPlayer now as part of the BBC Lights Up season. Both the BSL version and the non-signed version will be on BBC iPlayer for a year.

Photo by Topher McGrillis (c) RSC

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