'My first time at Curve Theatre, play was good, scenery changes very good, light and loop excellent as am hard of hearing. bad viewing of interpreter, cant see as people heads in the way. try to move different seating e.g. upstairs, but no good as interpreter too far to see. best viewing is by the sides of theatre. maybe put interpreter on a box/podium?'
deafzine submitted article:-
'Curve is a hit with deaf theatregoers
Some of us had a wonderful time at Curve last night watching a signed (BSL) performance of 'The Light in the Piazza', interpreted by Karen Sly.
The Light in the Piazza is a musical, set in Italy in the summer of 1950's which a young American tourist, Clara, meets and falls for young Italian Fabrizio. When Clara's mother Margaret learns of the affair, she tries to stop it for reasons which was revealed at the end of the play.
Some of the lyrics are in Italian or broken English, and the interpreter did an excellent job translating this, and we were able to follow the story due to the interpreter's accurate facial expressions and excellent role shifts, as well as the tempo of her signs for the music/songs.
The scenry was fantatsic and clever, and the American 1950's costumes was gorgeous.
The staff at Curve was very helpful, as it was the first time that the deaf audience were given the opportunity to give feedback. During the first half we were unable to see the interpreter over the audience's heads in front of us, and at interval we were allowed to move seats, giving us better viewings. The staff were keen to recieve this feedback from us, and agreed on specific seats (e.g. stall right or stall sides) that is best suited for deaf people in future signed performances. People will need to notify the ticket office that they are deaf when booking tickets, so staff will know which seats to offer.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience, and we can't wait to see more shows like this!'
By Jackie Perkins, deafzine