Almost a quarter of UK population now watch captioned content ‘all the time’, Stagetext poll reveals

Nearly 25% of the general public watch captioned content “all the time” at home, a new survey has found, with a similar amount (26%) saying they have the captions turned on “some of the time”.

The representative poll of 2,003 people, commissioned by Stagetext, comes after performances shifted online due to the coronavirus – with the arts captioning charity saying the figures reveal a “hidden hard of hearing community”.

Melanie Shape, CEO of Stagetext, said: “We always knew more people use captions than declared needing them, but we are astounded at the scale of use following lockdown.

“These figures prove the demand for captions and that for millions of people, they are a lifeline.  Every one of us knows someone who has the TV on that little bit too loud and would benefit from turning on the subtitles.

“At a live event you can’t adjust the volume and the stress of not following a plot, muffled dialogue and off-stage distraction can put people off attending amazing performances. Having captions at live events ensures the whole family can enjoy a live performance.”

The research also revealed that more than two-thirds (67%) of the UK population find it difficult to hear what is happening during a live performance or while watching TV. More than one in 10 people (12%) whose first language isn’t English said they watch content with captions to help with their understanding.

Over three-quarters of interviewees (77%) said they’re in favour of venues making more captioned performances available to patrons, with 31% saying they would be more likely to attend a live show if they did.

Just over a fifth (21%) went as far as to say that there should be a legal requirement for venue to provide captions or subtitles.

Deaf teenager and captions user Daniel Jillings, known for his campaigning for a BSL GCSE, commented: “Because of captions, I could enjoy lots of the theatre shows that were streamed online during lockdown. Now that theatres are opening again, it’s important that providing captions for shows continues.

“Deaf people like me need captions to access live shows in theatres, so we can understand what is happening on stage […]. If access is ignored, then theatres will lose customers, especially deaf people and the friends and family who normally visit with them.”

The data has been released on the first day of this year’s Captioning Awareness Week, set up by Stagetext to “celebrate museums, theatres, galleries and artists who have been providing captions for their audience”.

Monday is also the charity’s 21st birthday, with Stagetext’s first captioned show being a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) on 15 November 2000.

Catherine Mallyon, the RSC’s executive director, said the organisation is “delighted” to support Captioning Awareness Week this year.

“It feels particularly fitting to mark the occasion with a captioned performance of the RSC’s The Comedy of Errors, since the very first captioned performance was the RSC production of The Duchess of Malfi, which also took place at the Barbican, our London base.

“We believe that Shakespeare and live theatre are for everyone, and ever since that first performance we have continued to include captioning across our programme as one of the ways we welcome audiences and make sure all can enjoy our work on stage.”

In addition to offering a captioned performance of The Comedy of Errors on Saturday, the Barbican will also host a free exhibition – titled ‘Captions Speak Louder’ – from Monday until 9 January.

Toni Racklin, the Barbican’s head of theatre, said: “We believe that the arts should be accessible to everyone, and working with Stagetext allows us to offer our audiences captioned performances at the Barbican.

“It’s great to now mark this 21^st anniversary landmark with Stagetext’s free exhibition Captions Speak Louder in the Barbican’s foyer.”

More information about the Captions Speak Louder exhibition can be found on the Barbican’s website.

Photo: Stagetext.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.