Signing Shakespeare
“There are over 50,000 deaf children in the UK and Shakespeare is the only named author that all children are required to study by the national curriculum. However, there is a lack of resources for deaf students studying Shakespeare in school.”
In this context, Braidwood Trust School for the Deaf (Birmingham, UK) has collaborated with Dr Abigail-Woodall from the University of Birmingham and Tracy Irish from the RSC Theatre. The ‘Signing Shakespeare Project’ involved the creation of online resources and activities to support teachers teaching Shakespeare to Deaf pupils.
On 18 July 2024, this group of students from the Braidwood school performed their adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Rep Theatre, Birmingham UK.
This was part of the Signing Shakespeare project, which involved working alongside a professional deaf actor: Mia Ward (Prospero). In this performance, Prospero’s long delivery of the backstory (which can be slightly tedious in some productions) was creatively enacted through short dramatic scenes in a way that made it more engaging and poignant.
This half-hour production packed in the salient points of the story and captured the key relationships. The young actors convincingly expressed the sense of a storm at sea through their body language and anguished gestures. We had not less than five Ariels and remarkable and wonderful they were in their swirling and dancing and flying. Caliban was thankfully more human than monster. Close attention to signing and gesture indicated the power struggle with Prospero, and Caliban’s cursing was given more weight through this acting technique. At the end of the play, Prospero placed his wooden staff at the front of the stage and the lights dimmed as Caliban triumphed in his place, his island restored to him, perhaps. Text and imagery were provided on a screen, along with audio description of the enchanting music and dramatic sound effects.
This production demonstrates what can be done with Shakespeare through adaptation and creative engagement and it also shows what talented young people can achieve through accessible training and learning opportunities. There were powerful emotional messages about human relationships, the need for equality and for empowered communication.
Andrea Huhle, Assistant Headteacher at Braidwood Trust School for the Deaf said: “Working with the highly creative and inspiring Signing Shakespeare team has been an incredible experience for our pupils. Being able to express the beauty of Shakespeare's words in British Sign Language while having the opportunity to work alongside hearing and Deaf professionals has made this an unforgettable experience for our talented young people."
Signing Shakespeare for Deaf students is a programme created by the University of Birmingham and the RSC to support deaf young people in their study and enjoyment of Shakespeare. Further info:
RSC Signing Shakespeare resources and activities for teaching Act 1 of Macbeth:
See also Macbeth: Media Guide
“This guide surveys key media resources on Shakespeare's Macbeth: recordings of live performances; podcasts; feature-length films; audio recordings; History / context / discussion; lectures; other film adaptations; games and quizzes; further reading. Film versions of Macbeth date back to the earliest days of silent film. Since then a wide variety of famous actors and directors attempting to put their stamp on the Scottish Tragedy. Notable also is the global dimension as more films, clips and resources become easier to access through YouTube. Increasingly, live performances are also being documented and are sometimes distributed online streaming, or via DVD. More recently we have had animations and even robotic versions of the play. Students can work through teacher-led exam-focused close analysis of the text, or watch short clips of amateur or professional actors offering their interpretations of Macbeth.”
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