Captioned Glasses @ National Theatre

On the 29th December I went to a captioned performance of Warhorse at the National Theatre.

 As many of you may know I love nothing more than heading to the theatre with captions (by stagetext) but my experience is often varied as I have to rely on theatres to advise me on the best seating for optimal view of both the captions and the stage. Sometimes this works really well and others, well it's just hard work, mainly because there usually are two screens placed either side of the stage but the height and how far inwards they face can vary at different theatres. This can really make or break the enjoyment of the show. The further up or outwards the screens, the more you have to move your head each time someone speaks, missing vital movement on the stage (or just pure talent and craft) particularly as your eyes readjust each time it moves back and forth.

Today was different however with the additional use of captioned glasses, a scheme rolled out by the National Theatre, London who currently have them available for screenings of Warhorse and Hadestown and hope to have them readily available for all shows next year. This is something that I'm unaware of happening elsewhere in the UK.

 When I arrived at the National Theatre I was bowled over by the support available. There was someone available to give me a full tutorial, they were available during the interval (personal service as they note your seating) and they were very open to feedback at the end. I've never seen such support widely given for deaf people, perhaps my only criticism would be whether any of them are able to sign for BSL users, that was something I did not ask.

 So, my opinion of the captioned glasses? Invariably, mixed. Let me summarise using a classic pros and cons list.

Cons

1. It is bulky. There is no getting around that. The glasses themselves have bulky sides to them, the lenses are thick and connected to a wire and a black box which is safely hung around your neck which can get slightly weighty after a while.

2. There is no 'safe' place for them. I held the glasses in my hand or put them on my head for safety during the interval. Going to the toilet whilst balancing an expensive pair of captioned glasses was definitely an experience.

3. It's not great for glasses wearers. Although they have adjustable sides theres no getting around the fact that they are leaning on top of your glasses which feels heavy after a while. A few people noted issues with their varifocal glasses etc around me (I'm such a nosey person).

4. The glasses make everything seem flattened and slightly darker, losing some of the joy found in the theatre with real life actors. I felt a little like I was watching TV after a while as the glasses gave a flattened 2D effect. 5. It was difficult to feel comfortable as the bulky sides made it difficult to be aware when people needed to get out of the aisle next to you resulting in a slight apprehension of when this would be and annoyance when someone did this unexpectedly. Me personally, I rely heavily on my peripheral vision to compensate for my hearing loss so it did give me a claustrophobic feeling after a while.

 Pros

 I imagine after reading the cons list you're thinking, is there any pros ?! Well, in a word, YES. For me, I was delighted in the fact that the writing was clear, readable, (mostly) in time with the show. I am so thankful that someone is coming up with an idea that in theory, could be a solution to a problem that has unnecessarily hindered and continues to hinder deaf people.

Would I wear them again? Yes I would, but only alongside the captioned screens on the side of the stage so that I can rest my face from the weight of both glasses (personal and captioned) during the show.

In conclusion, my opinion is that captioned glasses has so much potential but for me, it's not quite there yet. But now, having had the experience, having tried this technology, I have feelings of not only happiness but also enlightenment and a sense of achievement as I realise that other people care about equal access just as much as I do. Thank you.

 If you'd like more information about the captioned glasses at the National Theatre then have a look at this; https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/your-visit/access/caption-glasses .

Subtitling life - When will Sky catch up? - by Eleanor

Hello!
 So, it may have been a few weeks.. *cough* or months *cough* since writing but its one of those strange things where life just happens and things just bumble along and eventually you find yourself wondering where did that time go. Yep that happened.

 So, I have been meaning to write this post for a few weeks now because I feel this is a really important matter.

 Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones is back. At long last. Aren't we all so desperate to see what happens to Jon Snow? To Arya? To the poor dragons? And when is that winter coming??

 So, it finally arrives. Sadly I don't have Sky on my TV BUT I have access to Sky Go (basically online catchup of all Sky programs). After waiting with anticipation, I finally settled down to watch it, PJs on with the duvet pulled to my neck.

 IT DOESN'T HAVE SUBTITLES!

What? It must be a mistake? In this day and age? BBC Iplayer, Netflix, 4od, even Amazon prime have subtitles now? I google with frustration.

 'Sky Go does not have subtitles.'

Luckily, someone has already picked up on this and is fighting for equality. Apparently Sky on demand doesn't have subtitles, but they've recently commented on plans to put these on later this year. However, for Sky Go, it won't be until 2017 (see here for more info Sky gives in to deaf teenager's demands to provide subtitles for on-demand programming.)

 I really do wonder how difficult it is to put subtitles on. A few years ago I fought with my local cinema to put subtitles on and I got excuse after excuse about needing digital screens with layering and set legislation to put them on legally. I have no idea how much of this is true and to be honest I should probably look into it further. But why should I? Why should it be my responsibility to ensure that deaf people (there are more than 900,000 in the UK who are severely or profoundly deaf) have access to TV and films? Watching a show without subtitles is like watching something in french (I don't speak french at all). I would not get it. At all.

So, no Game of Thrones till 2017, or with any luck, the boxset *sad face*.

On a more positive note, I have been to see two amazing shows with captions this year. The first was 'Wicked' in London @ #Apollo Victoria Theatre. It was the first time I've ever seen Wicked and I loved it! I was hooked from the first song, 'No one morns the wicked'... *heart melts and mouth drops*.







I also went to see 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' @ #Gielgud Theatre, London, with captions too. It was so cleverly written and I enjoyed every minute. The stage, the actors and the technical props, just bang on. The only slight thing I might comment on was that there was a lot of talking, which I knew from reading the book and the fact the main character is autistic, and was to be expected but wow, there was a lot to read! The other awesome thing is that the theatre sent me a synopsis before the show which was a really great idea to help anticipate what would be happening next and therefore be prepared for some of the dialogue. It can often feel like a lot to take in at once, to be reading, watching the show and following it entirely, so having that synopsis fresh in my mind, was really helpful.

I am now utterly hooked on captioned theatre showings and although I've not told anyone yet, I'm hoping all my christmas presents will be tickets to shows next year!

Latitude for Deaf people

I’ve never really been a festival goer. I’ve been to the V Fest for the day, and I once went to Hyde Park to see Oasis (Kaisbian were one of the supporting groups and they were amazing!).  I even went to the KLFM concert one evening simply because it was cheap (not many tickets were getting sold so they were dirt cheap… quite a nice evening, especially as there were no queues in the bar.. because hardly anyone was there!!) but it was rather cold and full of debut acts.

 I’ve never camped anywhere further than my back garden. Partly because I’ve never needed too, but partly because the thought of not being able to hear people around the tent whilst I’m asleep kinda scares me!

One of my friends who works as a BSL interpreter told me about Latitude and how it’s one of the major festivals with deaf access. They actively promote Latitude to deaf people by offering cheaper ticket deals to ensure they can come, providing BSL interpreters for some of the goings on. It all sounds amazing but in the bottom of my heart I know that doesn’t really help me. I am deaf, with a hearing family, brought up orally and although I’ve learnt some BSL I’m definitely not confident enough to follow BSL 100%. I’m also not able to follow speech 100% of the time, I rely heavily on lip-reading which can involve several incidents/frustrations with accents, moustaches and generally lazy talkers!

For all you deaf readers, please consider Latitude, things can get even better if people show their support and enthusiasm for additional deaf access. Perhaps in the future we could get certain events captioned for those inbetweeners (not the film!!) like me. But things can only improve or become better if we communicate our needs and fight for equal access. Just because we happen to have some sort of hearing loss, doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to know what’s going on.