Review: Tortoise and the Hare – a fully inclusive and joyful family show at Derby Theatre (BSL)

Billed as a show for ages 3–100, Tortoise and the Hare at Derby Theatre more than lives up to its promise. As I settled into the studio theatre ready for the show to begin, I was conscious at first of being the only audience member present without a child. I needn’t have worried. I loved it.

From the moment the actors entered the space to engage with the audience, I felt welcomed, engaged and entertained. Their pre-show engagement immediately set a tone of openness and inclusion, which I could see was especially reassuring for younger children and first-time theatre-goers.

Dotted around me were families with shy, nervous toddlers and on the other half of the studio a large group of school children sat with their teachers. Yet from the very start of the show – everyone was engrossed!

Tortoise and the Hare re-tells the classic story in the setting of a Forest School, with teacher ‘Mr Aesop’  – encouraging the tortoise and the hare to finally ‘work together’ to win their sports day trophy!

Written and directed by Sarah Brigham – the show manages to be playful, meaningful, and genuinely inclusive all at the same time.

Deaf actors EJ Raymond and Amy Helena are gloriously confident BSL users who are paired up with Laura Goulden and Adam Robertson – who speak and sign throughout the show. Ivan Stott plays Mr Aesop and performs the role with a gentle authority that is warm and inviting.

With both the Hare and the Tortoise being played by two actors each — one voicing the character, the other signing — it was amazing to see how the performances blended seamlessly!

I was pleased to see how the deaf actors were not ‘following’ the hearing actor – as can sometimes happen in integrated productions – but were on complete equal platforms and able to really shine!

Even the placement of the actors during segments of choreography and signed song meant that they were always able to lead and perform independently – a task that movement director Stacey Green achieved very well.

Visually, the production is a delight with a stunning set designed by Rachana Jadhav and the cutest little puppets created by John Barber.

As well as being fully accessible for deaf and hard of hearing audiences, with BSL and creative captions, the show provides creative audio description for blind and visually impaired, in a way that weaves seamlessly into the show – led by consultant Ben Wilson.

I was extremely impressed by how thoughtfully accessibility was woven into the very fabric of the whole show. Shows like this are creating authentic inclusive experiences for children and families of all ages and normalising access in exciting ways.

Donna Mullings, who was BSL consultant for the show, did a stellar job of translating the entire script and songs in a way that felt fresh, clear and relevant to the story. The BSL throughout the show was strong, accurate and most of all – fun!

I genuinely enjoyed each one of the actors performances as they all brought a unique tone and quality to the show. However, for me, one standout moment came from EJ Raymond, whose ability to visually portray a range of animals and emotions was truly superb.

EJ’s performance worked so well – not just for my deaf eyes who have a preference for visual portrayals – but for the children who giggled and squealed at EJ’s physical storytelling too.

It was a joy to watch such strong physical storytelling, and refreshing to see this skill given space to shine. That said, the ensemble really did work beautifully together as a whole, offering a lovely balance of expressive physicality, visual clarity, and song.

At just 60 minutes long, the show is perfectly paced for family audiences, holding attention from start to finish and dotted with so many laugh out loud moments. Family shows can sometimes feel slow or padded, but Tortoise and the Hare never lost momentum.

Perhaps one of the most refreshing aspects of the production is that — despite being performed in December — it is not a Christmas show. Instead, it offers something timeless: a well-loved fable told in a delightfully imaginative and creative way.

On the whole, this was a wonderful, inclusive piece of theatre — joyful, clever, and deeply human. Quite simply, it’s probably my favourite studio show at Derby Theatre yet, and one I would wholeheartedly recommend to families, schools, and anyone who believes theatre should be for everyone.

Tortoise and the Hare is running at Derby Theatre until 3rd January. More details here.

Photography credit Graeme Braidwood.