Review: Much Ado About Nothing by 1623 theatre and Purple Theatre

Shortly before the summer I was invited to watch a production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing featuring an actress who is deaf, Emily Howlett.

A collaboration between 1623 theatre and Purple Theatre, the script was written by Ranjit Bolt and had an excitingly diverse cast.

As well as also being mindful of viewers accessing via audio description, the show was also translated in British Sign Language in a traditional manner whereupon the interpreter was found at the side of the stage throughout the performance.

Although I was unable to attend the live show in Leicester, I was delighted to find the production was live streamed and recordings were made available in several formats. I chose to review the recording with English captions where the live BSL interpreter was evident in a small box at the bottom right of my screen.

Much Ado About Nothing is a lively play which explores themes around relationships and looks at attitudes towards genders and stereotypes. I found the writing to be very relevant and enjoyed the arguments that fiery Beatrice – played by Emily Howlett – put across. “If I was a man…!” She declares several times, leaving the audience to reflect on the restrictive ideals that women have been bound by for centuries.

Howlett was perfectly cast in the role of Beatrice; Beatrice’s witty nature and and cheekiness suit Howlett to a tee and the visual way in which Howlett delivers Beatrice’s insulting one liners was superb.

Howlett performs mostly using spoken English, with the odd BSL phrase used to depict a visual meaning or to elaborate on an insult. While this works at times, there are some places in which the BSL is not expanded upon enough to be clear – thus getting ‘lost in translation.’

I also enjoyed the few times that other characters signed to Beatrice, using clear recognisable signs. I found it refreshing that Beatrice did not have to be ‘labelled’ as deaf nor her deafness made a fuss of, she just fitted seamlessly into the cast and the audience were able to gather their own understanding that this was a deaf person who uses sign and speech.

I found Howlett’s performance to be incredibly charismatic, and the rest of the cast equally enjoyable to watch. The video recordings meant I had a wonderfully close up view of the performers facial expressions and lip patterns, so I felt fully involved and considered.  This close up, however, did highlight when there were minor access issues, such as when actors turned their backs to the audience whilst delivering lines.

As a lover of Shakespeare and the language his writing uses, I much prefer to watch plays with English captions instead of solely with BSL interpreters. I would love to see further productions by this team use live stage captions so deaf viewers are able to keep their eye line upon the array of talented actors whilst being able to follow the dialogue with ease.

There was a particular English phrase in this play which – for me – does not translate well in BSL without further elaboration. The line states ‘beauty is a witch,’ and the typical way to sign this is to depict a female ‘witch’ with crooked nose and wart, a translation that no longer feels relevant in this day and age. Such examples are evidence of an ongoing need to supply English captions for deaf viewers instead of using a BSL interpreter alone, who often does not have the time to offer such considered translations.

Shakespeare’s work is filled with wonderfully intricacies and detailed meanings, which BSL does well to reveal in its visual, expressive nature. This version of Much Ado About Nothing teases us with tasters of how Shakespearean English and BSL can fuse together wonderfully and I would love to see more of this.

On the whole this was a thoughtful and vibrant production by a creative team who are passionate about inclusivity, and it shows. With a few adjustments, I look forwards to seeing what they produce next!

By Rebecca A Withey
www.rawithey.com

Find out more about 1623 theatre and Purple Theatre here:

https://www.facebook.com/1623theatre/

https://purpletheatre.co.uk/

You can watch the recordings here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgjlQ38ySAwjpIuif2BzQQrCaG3GVfKed

Are you producing a show that you would like me to review on The Limping Chicken? Contact me directly at rebecca@rawithey.com