Deaf actor Bea Webster tells us about an accessible online Shakespearean event, happening this weekend!

A Day Out At Shakespeare’s Theatre is a ticketed online event with BSL interpretation and English captions throughout. Hosted by A Bit Lit, the event will take place on Saturday 15th January from 4-6pm and Deaf actor Bea Webster is one of the performers involved.

A Day Out in Shakespeare’s Theatre is an opportunity to imagine a trip to the theatre in the 1600s, diving into the decisions and dilemmas audiences and workers might have faced while taking in the sights, sounds and even smells of the day in a two-hour experience that will test the limits of Zoom.

A Bit Lit’s mission is to make the latest academic research available to anyone, anywhere, in a fun and interactive format. It will be the first in a series of events and courses drawing on historical and cultural research and performance expertise. Aimed at those aged 14 and up, audiences will be able to enjoy the experience alone, or as a party, perhaps dressing up to meet friends online.

I caught up with Bea Webster to find out more about their involvement and the significance of Shakespeare’s work in the deaf community.

Hi Bea! Congratulations on your involvement with A Bit Lit – the new event sounds very exciting. Can you tell us what this online project means to you?

It’s just such an exciting opportunity to create some work during a pandemic, and an amazing opportunity to deliver it in such a fun way! I wanted to use BSL to represent the Deaf community, as I think BSL is one of the best languages to deliver Shakespeare. I may be a bit biased here!

There has been a surge of online events since the pandemic with A Bit Lit hosting so many successful projects – what’s your view on so much happening online?

It’s the best alternative isn’t it, and a way to still create during a pandemic. For me personally, live events are better as I prefer being there in person. Live events are usually more accessible to me. Well, usually!

I am quite aware that online events are more accessible to some people so I really hope online events carry on parallel to offline events. I did get to enjoy some theatres during the lockdown that I’d otherwise never see. And it’s great that A Bit Lit are making access needs such a key part of what they offer.

How will you be involved in event on the 15th – can you tell us about your role on the day?

I’m playing a weather forecaster for the event, introducing the audience to some historical ways of thinking about the weather. It’s really fun and a little bit crazy. A Bit Lit provided the resources for self-taping and paid for a colleague to work on the translation with me.

A Bit Lit has stated they feel the deaf community has been largely underserved when it comes to accessing and enjoying Shakespeare – is this also true in your personal experience?

I definitely agree! I remember when I did a short course for Deaf actors, two people in the course were adamant they couldn’t work with Shakespeare because of the language. After the session ended I remember seeing their faces lit up, it was the fact that it was inaccessible to them that prevented them from enjoying it. With the right resources anyone can access it.

In terms of watching shows, it is difficult. I personally prefer captions over BSL interpreted shows, but the language of Shakespeare does make it difficult to understand what is happening. When it comes to BSL interpreted shows, do the interpreters have the skills to translate Shakespeare into BSL? Do they understand the text? Or the actor’s choice? Most importantly, are they being supported enough to be able to interpret it?

I know there isn’t much support there. So I sometimes leave the Shakespeare production being more confused than before. It wasn’t until I saw Clare Edwards interpret Measure for Measure for the RSC that it finally clicked, and I was in absolute tears by the end of it and I wanted so much more of this.

The event I’m taking part in, A Day Out at Shakespeare’s Theatre, really helps to communicate the theatre of Shakespeare’s time and doesn’t get bogged down in the language details of a full play.

Do you feel Shakespeare is relevant to the deaf community?

Yes, Shakespeare is relevant, and has been for a long time. I think it will carry on to be relevant because it’s primarily about human nature isn’t it?

But what I am frustrated at is the traditional male cis-heteronormative non-disabled adaptation of Shakespeare. I keep seeing this everywhere and it brings nothing new personally. When I see Deaf actors in Shakespeare, it always makes more sense to me.

I think sign language is closer to the Shakespearean language than English, and it’s really fun to explore that. I did Shakespeare Snapshot for the RSC during lockdown, and I had so many people come up to me and even a brilliant fellow Deaf actor William Grint exclaimed, “I didn’t know that was what Shakespeare meant!”

I’d love to know how the work of Shakespeare has inspired or influenced you personally or in your career.

After doing The Winter’s Tale for the Royal Shakespeare Company, it really made me a much more confident actor in the aftermath even if I didn’t feel confident at the time. It was my first try at Shakespeare and what a wonderful place to start Shakespeare in!

I was much more nervous speaking Shakespeare because of both Audism and the fact that I thought everyone in the room knew how to do Shakespeare. How very mistaken I was! And it turns out I absolutely delight in translating Shakespeare into BSL, as it’s such a rich text with many options to choose how I can translate a particular line.

That’s why I’m excited to be taking part in A Day Out at Shakespeare’s Theatre as it really makes clear how diverse and accessible the earliest English theatres were, which has the potential to open it out to others too.

For more details and to book tickets visit https://abitlit.co/

Bea Webster (shey/they) is a Deaf queer non-binary Scottish-Thai actor, theatre-maker, writer and drag queen. Bea graduated with a BA Performance in British Sign Language and English from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Bea’s recent theatre credits include The Winter’s Tale (Royal Shakespeare Company), Holding/Holding On (National Theatre of Scotland), Mother Courage and Her Children (Red Ladder/Leeds Playhouse), peeling (Taking Flight)