Rebecca A Withey: A conversation with the cast and creatives of ”The Emperor’s New Clothes” at Derby Theatre

April sees a brand new BSL integrated show open at Derby Theatre – The Emperor’s New Clothes! I popped into their rehearsal rooms for a chat with a few cast members and creatives to find out why this years Easter show is an absolute must-see!

Hi everyone! Thanks for welcoming me to your rehearsal studio! So do tell us, why should we go and see the show?

Raffie Julien (actor)

“Many reasons! Firstly because the show has lots of access in place for deaf audiences; BSL integration, VV, dancing, visual language, movement, all in one – it’s a really fabulous show and you really need to come and see it!

We have a special surprise within the show too. Adding to the list of elements I’ve mentioned we also have puppetry involved. With the puppets you can actually put hands through them and so they sign. I’ve never worked with anything like that before.”

Donna Mullings (BSL Creative Consultant)

“It’s a new experience for me too. With the puppets having hands it feels like you can actually communicate with them. They touch my heart! I know the puppets faces are fixed but they are so expressive and you can tell the emotions they give out. I find them really beautiful. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the audience react to the puppets.

As well as being really accessible with the BSL, it’s also a really colourful show! It reminds me of the colourful sights of a fun fair! I will really enjoy watching it being performed.”

Have there been any particular challenges with the BSL translation?

Donna:

“As BSL consultant, I’ve found some elements challenging, the signed song particularly. I’ve had to clarify the meaning of the song lyrics. Some words such as loot which translates as “money” has made me think twice about the best way to translate things so the signs match the mood of what’s being said.”

How did the deaf artists work with the signed song?

Raffie:

“I worked closely with the actor musicians, asking them to sit or stand closely with their instruments and as they’re singing too we can get the feel for the rhythm of the song. By reading the song lyrics and creating signs, we worked with the actor musicians who are singing to make sure our rhythms were in sync.”

Emily Howlett (BSL Consultant)

“Going back to why you should come and see the show, it’s quite different to what I’ve worked on before. Today was an interesting morning for me as it was my first time in the rehearsal studio with everyone so I could see what’s been created.

The first way that the show strikes me as being different is because there’s only six actors in total. Normally in a BSL integrated show at Derby Theatre there’s over 14 cast members! I feel with a smaller cast the relationships between the characters are stronger and clearer to see.

This show is very good access wise as we have three main characters who sign; played by Raffie, Brooklyn and Becky and the rest of the cast use very visual language. What’s good about having a small cast is the audience know where to look and who to look at so I think the BSL integration is clearer than in previous shows.”

I’m intrigued to know why “The Emperors New Clothes” – was there a reason behind your deciding to remake this book into a play?

Sarah Brigham (director)

“We decided on this story for several reasons. As everyone knows from the story, the Emperor is a terribly vain man who makes foolish choices and his advisors don’t dare tell him otherwise. In the story, the emperor pays huge amounts of money for a special ‘invisible’ fabric for his clothes – there’s actually nothing there, he’s nude! But he has more money than sense.

It feels quite reflective of what’s going on in the real world in politics when a person in power can state so called facts and no one around them will dare challenge or say otherwise. Others may know what the leader is saying isn’t true but they still choose to keep quiet.

It’s actually a child in the story – played by Brooklyn Melvin – who challenges the Emperor and exclaims to him “You’re nude! You’re telling lies!” So although it’s definitely a fun family show, we feel it’s very relevant to what’s going on in society today.”

How did you devise the script for the play?

Sarah:

“We have a small cast this time around as we are devising the dialogue for the show without a pre written script. My aim is to make sure the BSL comes first rather than what’s usually done in theatre with deaf actors have to translate a pre written English script.

We work through scenes together, tweaking what’s been said and settling on the most appropriate way to perform with the BSL. I couldn’t do this with a cast of 14, it’d be too time consuming. The show is delivered half in BSL and half in spoken English dialogue. Our aim is to make sure the BSL feels equal to the English.”

Donna:

”We actually have 2 BSL consultants on the show, myself and Emily. It’s Emily’s first time in the rehearsal studio today so it’ll be interesting to see how we work together.”

Emily:

”I will be able to give a fresh perspective and also check that what I see matches Donnas vision. There are so many ways to translate in BSL and so it’ll be useful to play around with so many options.

Luckily Donna and I know each other and we’ve worked together before so we can support each other’s styles so there isn’t any conflict.”

Donna:

“It’s interesting how with this show I don’t need to translate the script line by line! As we are devising dialogue I can also offer feedback to all of the actors on how best to alter movement, body language or facial expression in order to become more of a visual show.”

Raffie:

“Another thing I love about this show for me personally as an actor was being given the choice as to whether I perform in BSL with my voice on or off. I choose in this show to use my voice quite a lot. This is a first for me. In the past I’ve had no confidence in using my voice at all.

So it’s great that there a choice amongst the actors as to whether we sign, speak or have voice off or on. The director is even providing me with a voice coach so I can gain an understanding of how to use my breath, how to project and understand how to use my voice. I had no idea about this in the past!”

Sarah:

“Yes, we at Derby Theatre are committed to supporting deaf actors and deaf artists to develop their skills. So in the same way we want to support Donna with her BSL consultancy, provide Emily with development opportunities, we had a discussion with Raffie initially about the character she wanted to play.

Raffie wanted to play something different this year and during the first day of rehearsals she told us she wanted to explore using her voice. So as much as we work to create great pieces of theatre we also believe in supporting and developing artists. So we listened to her and brought in a voice coach.

This means next time Raffie goes for an acting job she can have the confidence to choose to use her voice if she so wishes. Our belief in theatre education is prioritising the development of artists.”

Raffie:

“There’s also lots of flexibility within the rehearsal rooms to change lines and discuss meanings and so forth. I was also involved in last years show here at Derby Theatre and I can see the difference with this year, I don’t feel so behind the other actors in the rehearsal room.

Usually it’s the hearing actors who have their lines all learned and prepared and us deaf actors have to wait for the translation process to catch up. Here I feel almost ahead of or on the same level as the actors using spoken English. That’s a really nice feeling. It’s like we are working on an equal level. An equal sharing of power.”

Sarah:

“Bear in mind we are still learning and we will keep on improving!”

Becky Barry (actor)

“I admit I am speaking from privilege as I’m a hearing actor – but I feel so lucky to be back at Derby Theatre, this is my third show here. As Raffie and Sarah explained, there’s no formal English script in this show that we have to follow and study. There’s room for us to play more and create more.

The disability phrase that says “nothing about us without us” really feels like it’s at the heart of this show because we have such a rich deaf-led team. So that is the main difference I’ve noticed with this show, the style and devising process. There’s such an open minded and open hearted atmosphere. It’s so nice to have the freedom to play with material and empower actors.

I hope the show will make deaf audiences feel seen and valued. They’ve been coming to see shows here for so long and I am so pleased to be part of this.”

Emily:

“Another thing that’s great is that this play is really specific to the cast and director. It’s because of their input and exploration that it is what it is. If one actor was to leave, the whole show would change. That’s why there’s no fixed method for creating integrated BSL shows. You can only work with the cast in front of you and if you devise as we are doing, the show will be the result of everyone’s collaborative efforts.”

Donna:

“I agree. As BSL creative consultant I’m really looking forward to being in the audience and watching the finished show. I know I will feel so proud of the end result. I feel it’s really important to have deaf-led and BSL-led elements as it’s such a positive role model for deaf youth. I hope the show inspires them and to see lots more open mindedness and BSL led shows in the future.”

The Emperors New Clothes opens on Friday 1^st April at Derby Theatre and runs until Saturday 16^th. For more information and tickets see:

https://www.derbytheatre.co.uk/emperors-new-clothes-easter-2022