Shakespeare Translated

This was a research, translation and performance project that focused on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Solar Bear worked with professional actors (Deaf and hearing), Deaf and hearing young people, schools, community groups and Deaf organisations in developing and delivering this project.

Following on from Seeing Voices, Solar Bear was keen to explore the staging techniques that it had developed in relation to a mainstream piece of theatre.

These staging techniques related particularly to investigations into the role of the Sign Language Interpreter (SLI) in theatre.

View the gallery here.

With Seeing Voices, Solar Bear had employed a Deaf actor and a SLI, and trained four hearing actors in basic signing skills. This meant that the Company was able to look at a range of staging options, including 'shadow signing' and 'doubling up'. Solar Bear also began exploring ways that physical theatre and gestural movement could interplay with British Sign Language (BSL), and thus began to develop a new integrated aesthetic for theatre.

Whilst this project was extremely valuable, Solar Bear felt that its findings related particularly to the creation of new work, and wondered what it could mean, and the effect it could have, on the sector's current understanding of mainstream theatre.

From its research, Solar Bear found that Deaf people felt that Shakespeare was tied up with hearing culture, and had no relation to them or their experiences of the world. Partly because of schooling, and partly because of the language and previous ways that it had been staged, Deaf people felt that Shakespeare was not accessible for them.

Solar Bear felt that A Midsummer Night's Dream was the ideal piece with which to challenge this notion and investigate the potential for change. The Company chose this text because:

• it is popular within mainstream theatre

• it contains so many aspects of visual humour

• the action exists in two worlds.

The project incorporated several strands including:

• the translation of A Midsummer Night's Dream into written BSL word    structure (this text is currently available from Solar Bear).

• a range of workshops exploring Deaf culture and humour (considering approaching the play from a Deaf perspective)

• several practical workshops exploring a variety of staging techniques

• a programme of outreach workshops exploring the themes and issues of the play and project

• monthly workshops with Deaf and hearing young people

• a collaborative fortnight bringing together all strands of the project and culminating in an open rehearsal/showing and discussion at The Citizens' Theatre.

Feedback from Deaf audience members from the post-show discussion held at the Citizens' Theatre on Saturday 15th April 2006:

"It was fun...it was really fun! A totally new experience..."

"I use both BSL and SSE (Sign Supported English) which follows a hearing language and culture. I loved the fact that you used BSL and not SSE in this piece...it was all-inclusive. Deaf and hearing people could both benefit"

"Really powerful...really moving as well"

"It was fantastic that no language had a priority here today, so both groups could come and enjoy it."

Feedback from hearing audience members from the post-show discussion:

"With Shakespeare, with the language being so dense, the signing seems to make it more accessible. It was at times like an emotional vocabulary"

"This could be a powerful educational resource: teaching people sign, but also getting to the heart of Shakespeare"

"I can't think of a better way to spend an Easter Saturday afternoon, I thought it was a fantastic performance"

"The sign language made it stronger...more powerful"