The Princess and the Pauper, a brand new BSL integrated musical opens this month!

Throughout the year I have been supporting the creative team at Hordern Ciani who are responsible for the brand new BSL integrated musical, The Princess and the Pauper. 

As BSL consultant I have been working with the cast to ensure all of the dialogue is clear and accessible and we have also created signed performances for all of the songs in the show.

Usually as BSL consultant I work mostly and solely with deaf/BSL using actors. In this case, I worked not only with the deaf actor but with the entire cast as all of the productions songs are to be performed in BSL.

Rehearsing with actors who have never signed before, it was a real joy to see their signing ability flourish and their confidence soar as they explored performing in a much more visual way. It was also great to witness the entire cast signing together in unison, with the deaf actor mentioning to me how wonderful it felt to perform a group signed song.

For most of the hearing actors, learning signs seemed to be akin to learning a dance routine and I noticed the flair that sign language added to their vocal performances.

Leading the production is Rhiannon Jones, a hugely talented native BSL user who is known for her appearance in Silent Witness and is appearing as Bess Canty. Beside her is Hannah Brownlie (The Offendors, Amazon) playing Bess Tudor. They are joined by David King Yombo (The Visit, National Theatre,) Beric Livingstone and Julie Wood (Radio Sea Breeze, TV.)

In the show you will discover that although Tess Canty and Elizabeth Tudor look extremely alike, their lives could hardly be more different. Elizabeth is Princess and heir to the throne; Tess is a miserable pauper. That is, until one day fate intervenes. For a while, each must see how the other lives.

By using signed song and BSL inspired choreography by Joseph Fletcher (of Deaf Men Dancing) Hordern Ciani has worked hard to create an equal experience through the production. By gender swapping the title roles and by including a deaf actor among the small cast of five, the company has created more equality on stage compared to what is usually traditionally seen in tales of “The Prince and the Pauper.”

Katherine Mount, producer at Hordern Ciani, comments,

“As a professional actress and singer with a deaf child, I was profoundly affected by my initial belief that Ethan would never be able to access music. Alongside advice to keep background noise to a minimum to encourage listening skills, when Ethan was still a baby, I stopped playing music and found singing an emotional impossibility for years.

But when sign song came along, it was life changing. Ethan joined The Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf and Hearing Children at the age of six and it was a revelation. Not only did he discover music for the first time, he also gained a new form of expression and had opportunity to perform in amazing venues, culminating in the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics 2012 and his very own CBBC documentary.

After many years of struggling to find accessible shows to take my son to watch, producing theatre myself and experimenting with the use of British Sign Language in song, the idea for a fully integrated musical was developed and The Princess and the Pauper was born.”

Director Robert Marsden adds,

“I am delighted to be returning to direct for Hordern Ciani once more. Reframing the Mark Twain story with a re-gendered approach and setting it in Elizabeth I’s reign allows for a fresh telling.

The piece is about survival, and the fear that comes with seemingly not being able to survive outside of your own world, class, and environment, which of course these characters learn that they are able to do.

Our production goes back to the origins of storytelling: our six actors, including deaf and hearing actors and integrated signers, tell the story of these two young girls, thrust into new situations, aiming to return to their original habitats, forging new friendships as they come of age and understand the world around them.”

The show is running throughout the end of August at the Mowlem Theatre in Swanage.

For show run details and to purchase tickets see https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the- mowlem-theatre/e-zjbdmk.

To follow Hordern Ciani and their work see https://www.hordernciani.com/