Thursday 31 May 2012

Still recovering....

Apologies for the lack of updates following our Globe performances last week. We haven't quite yet recovered. The response from audiences has been amazing as have the reviews such as this one from The Guardian


Since Globe shows last week the actors have been on tour to Ipswich and Wolverhampton. It was hard for them to adjust from performing in front of 1500 people to an audience of just 60 or 70 - not quite the same buzz as you might imagine! This Saturday they'll be performing in Derby's historic Arboretum Park at 3pm. The park warden has arranged a beautiful spot for us (see photo below). We're expecting a good turn-out from the Deaf community - it should be a fantastic afternoon out!

Stage Manager Georgina Alexander visiting the Arboretum earlier this month

Monday 21 May 2012

The final rehearsals...

This Saturday was the actors' last day of rehearsals at RADA Studios (see photos below). Today they have moved to The Globe where they are rehearsing in a studio space. 


Tomorrow morning will be the first time the cast get to practice on the Globe's hallowed stage. The directors will be specifically focusing on stage entrances and exits and making any minor adjustments required. The Globe is a very unique space with its balconies and trapdoors with audiences viewing the stage from all sorts of angles! But team has been well prepared for this. Roll on tomorrow...looks like the sun will be out!




Friday 18 May 2012

Maria

As we edge ever closer to the big day, here is a bit of info about Donna Mullings from Derby who plays Lady-in-Waiting, Maria. It has been quite some time since she last performed with Deafinitely Theatre which was back in 2004 in Children of a Greater God. She has this to say:


"I am very much looking forward to perform at The Globe with the cast, it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Shakespeare's language is difficult to understand, we have (with the wonderful support from Kate Furby and Andrew Muir) had to to translate the language into Modern English and then into BSL.
It had been tricky to adjust our BSL language into a much more visual form. It will be AMAZING once we are on stage!!! Paula Garfield (the Director) has been brilliant, supporting us and making us feel comfortable, helping us to understand the play.  I feel it is going to be an incredible experience and I am going to be filled with lot of butterflies, all fluttering around in my stomach...  I feel so privileged and honoured to be acting on this very famous stage. It will be a completely overwhelming experience!"


Donna in Children of a Greater God, 2004

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Costard

Time to introduce the guy who will be playing Costard, a character described as "a clown" by Shakespeare. His name is David Sands and he originates from Barrow-on-Furness. He has appeared in a few Deafinitely plays including The Boy and the Statue at the Tricycle Theatre last year and Lipsticks and Lollipops in 2008. We look forward to lots of laughs from David next week!

David in The Boy and the Statue. Photo by Simon Kane.

Friday 11 May 2012

Getting dressed up

A few days ago a costume fitting session was held for our actors. The costumes have been designed by Fiona Albrow and are loosely based on a historical period. Can you guess which? Answers on a postcard please...



Friday 4 May 2012

Walking in the Woods

Here is a very brief clip (we don't want to reveal too much just yet!) from our rehearsals this week. The scene is from Act 4, Scene 1 when Costard (played by David Sands) interrupts the Princess of France's hunt in the woods, waving a letter in his hand. 


As its a rehearsal clip its a bit rough around the edges but gives you a taste of what you will see on the 22nd May! 


Also in the clip are Nadia Nadarajah (Princess), Charlotte Arrowsmith (Rosaline) and Brian Duffy (Boyet).

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Rosaline

Today our little spotlight is on Charlotte Arrowsmith who plays Rosaline, one of the ladies-in-waiting. An East-London resident, she has acted with us before in Lipsticks and Lollipops in 2008 and The Boy and the Statue in 2011.

She's full of confidence when talking about Love's Labour's Lost:

"When our play is being performed on stage, Shakespeare's writing and his language will be portrayed by the beauty of hands. The beauty of face expressions and physicality will enlighten a meaning to a single word. As a whole, a mix of cultures and literature that will bring a melting pot bubbling over with some extra flavours and surprises. Once people have a taste of it, they be back for more!"

Hopefully you'll be feeling hungry now.

Charlotte, along side Vitalis Katakinas in The Boy and the Statue at the Tricycle Theatre in 2011

Friday 27 April 2012

Don Armado

Another day, another actor. This time its Adam Bassett of Hull. He has never acted with Deafinitely Theatre before. Our Artistic Director, Paula Garfield discovered him last year on a talent-spotting trip to Derby.


He'll be playing Don Armado, the "fantastical Spaniard", a character Shakespeare created to mock the fallen glory of the Spanish Armada. 


Adam is thrilled to be performing in Love's Labour's Lost: 


"Excited and nervous because we all have to perform in front 1,500 people which is amazing. Also, The Globe is so well-known around the world. That we are going to perform there also we all will be taking part in the first British Sign Language Shakespeare play! Definitely exciting!"


Tuesday 24 April 2012

The Princess

Rehearsals got under way proper for Love's Labour's Lost yesterday. Here's a bit more info about another of one of our actors, Nadia Nadarajah who will be playing The Princess of France

Nadia is relatively new to acting but has been a presenter for BSLBT programmes such as Wicked and Snapshot. In 2010 she won an award for Best Young Director at the International Disability Film Awards for a short film, All Day. She clearly has many talents! 

Here are her thoughts on Shakespeare:

"I first started to learn Shakespeare when I was at school. At this age I could only understand parts of what was written and never the full story. I remember discussing one of the plays orally, in spoken English, but as BSL is my preferred language I was not able to get a better understanding this way.

When I first got involved in translation week with Deafinitely theatre I was very apprehensive. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fully understand everything that was happening, and just wouldn't "get it."

I was very fortunate to have Andrew Muir and Kate Furby to help with the translation of the play in to BSL. They are excellent at translating in to BSL so that I can fully understand, and for this I owe them a big thank you.

It is amazing to me that Shakespeare wrote this story over 500 years ago,and everything that he expressed at this time is still true today. His views on love and relationships for example, are still the same things that we see and believe to be true in everyday life."

Nadia acting in development workshops for Deafinitely's autumn production, Tanika's Journey

Tuesday 17 April 2012

A little feature

To find out a bit more about the translation process that took place in March and to see interviews with the directors and actors watch this episode of Deaf magazine programme, The Hub. There is a feature on our preparations for Love's Labour's Lost around 15 minutes into the episode.

http://www.bslbt.co.uk/programmes/the-hub/the-hub-series-2/programme-3-2/


Monday 16 April 2012

The King....

Rehearsals start next Monday for Love's Labour's Lost. We can hardly wait! Its a good time to start to introduce some of our actors.

First up, is the guy who is playing Ferdinand (the King of Navarre), Stephen Collins. He is probably one of the more well-known members of the cast having acted in Graeae Theatre's successful show, Reasons to be Cheerful.

A native of Bethnal Green, Stephen's first experience of theatre acting was within Deafinitely Theatre's Drama School course two years ago and since then his acting career has really taken off. He's really looking forward to performing Shakespeare:

"I studied Shakespeare at school and know some of his famous work like Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth & Henry 5th. His plays have been translated so many times by different people but yet his plays still feel fresh, original and current. They are great stories! I haven't read many of them but I'm very keen to explore these plays now that I'm doing LLL. It is tricky to study Shakespeare but its not impossible and I'm really excited with what Deafinitely theatre is coming up with. I think for every actor, you want to do at least one of his plays in your lifetime." 

                                    Stephen in Deafinitely Theatre's 4Play, 2011. Photo by Simon Kane.

Friday 13 April 2012

In 'quiet' waters....

Apologies that things have been quiet lately with a bit of a blog lull over Easter. But all that will change next week when the action starts hotting up again ready for the start of rehearsals on the 23rd!

The reality is that is that it hasn't actually been quiet in the office. Its just much of our attention has been focused on the very thrilling task of marketing the tour. After two performances at Shakespeare's Globe our production of Love's Labour's Lost will be shown in Ipswich, Wolverhampton, Derby and Brighton. Lots and lots of flyers and posters like the one below have been produced to be distributed out to the touring venues.


Tomorrow most of our staff will be at Deaf Day. This is an annual exhibition event at London's City Lit where dozens of organisations that work with deaf people will have stalls to promote their services. Its a popular event; the corridors are always packed full of deaf people catching up with each other. They also tend to have a quick look at the exhibitions before heading off to the pub opposite! If you decide to pop along - come and say hello to us on the 5th Floor! 

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Gold Dust

Deafinitely Theatre's participation in the Globe to Globe Festival will be a fitting moment to celebrate the company's tenth anniversary. It is also appropriate that we are having one of our busiest seasons ever.

It is not just Love's Labour's Lost we have been preparing for but we have four other productions this year plus next year's schedule to think about. Miraculously our staff have not yet had a nervous breakdown. This week our attention is focused on Gold Dust which will be shown at Soho Theatre from Wednesday to Saturday. It's a funny and moving play that has been written by Andrew Muir (who is also the Assistant Director of Love's Labour's Lost).

The style of the play is quite different to what will be seen in Love's Labour's Lost (LLL). Whilst LLL is solely in British Sign Language (BSL), most of our plays have mix of spoken English and BSL and thus ensuring that everyone can access them whether deaf or hearing. Gold Dust is based on a true story and explores the relationship between a deaf father and his hearing son. The father uses sign language throughout the play whilst his son uses speech. The script is clever in that the audience can follow the story regardless of whether they rely on BSL or spoken English to communicate, yet the dialogue between the two characters feels very natural.

Jim Fish (left) and Ilan Dwek (right) in Gold Dust



Wednesday 21 March 2012

Productivity!


Last week we had a production meeting for Love's Labour's Lost. Production meetings are typically long-winded affairs held before rehearsals start to discuss preparations and schedules. Included in the meeting (pictured anticlockwise from bottom) was:
Paula Garfield (Director)
Andrew Muir (Assistant Director)
Mark Sands (Executive Director  i.e. the man with the money!)
Martin McLean (Project Manager - looks after contracts, marketing and the all important blog!)
Kate Furby (Creative Interpreter - translating what was said in the meeting to BSL/English)
Fiona Albrow (Costume and Prop Designer)
Georgina Alexander (Stage Manager)
Simon Heap (Set Designer)
Simon Perkins (Tour Technical Manager)

There was much talk about the set, props and costumes. It is important that they match up well together. For example, if the costumes have an abstract design then the set should also have an abstract feel. Also, the directors need to be clear what can be achieved within budgets the designers have available to them. More to follow about the set and costumes.....

We also talked about the music, the tour, transport, budgets, timescales and lots of details much too dull to repeat here. In all, it was a productive, production meeting!

Wednesday 14 March 2012

An example...


The video is an example of a scene that was translated a couple of weeks ago by our actors.


BEROWNE.
Lady, I will commend you to mine own heart.

ROSALINE.
Pray you, do my commendations; I would be glad to see it.

BEROWNE.
I would you heard it groan.

ROSALINE.
Is the fool sick?

BEROWNE.
Sick at the heart.

ROSALINE.
Alack! let it blood.

BEROWNE.
Would that do it good?

ROSALINE.
My physic says 'ay.'

BEROWNE.
Will you prick't with your eye?

ROSALINE.
No point, with my knife.

BEROWNE.
Now, God save thy life!

ROSALINE.
And yours - from long living!

BEROWNE.
I cannot stay thanksgiving.

(BEROWNE exits.)

Friday 9 March 2012

Late-Winter's Night's Dream

Last night the Deafinitely Theatre team attended The Globe's Gala Performance of Midsummer's Night's Dream. The show was well worth standing in the cold for two hours - fantastic performances all around from the actors. It was followed by a party underneath the theatre where we got to mingle with a few other participants in the Globe to Globe festival. Was great to share our experiences of translating Shakespeare! 


Pictured from Left to Right: Martin McLean, Project Manager (and Blog writer!), Andrew Muir (Assistant Director), Kelly Robinson (Development & Communications), Paula Garfield (Artistic Director), Kate Furby (Creative Interpreter) and Mark Sands (Executive Director).

Monday 5 March 2012

The Labour of Translating Shakespeare



This week our ten actors will continue to work through the text of Love's Labour's Lost, gradually translating it bit by bit. By the end of last week they had got through 55 pages (there are 106 in total). Here's a bit more information about how it all works....

BSL does not not have a written form. This means that unlike many of the other languages used in the Globe to Globe festival creating a script in our language is less straightforward. This means we have asked our actors to be responsible for translating their own lines and then recording them onto video.

Before the two-week translation period started, writer, Andrew Muir worked together with our Artistic Director, Paula Garfield and Creative Interpreter, Kate Furby to edit and cut down the script for the festival. He also translated the text to modern English so that it would be easier for our actors to work with.

The script has the old English next to the modern English. This allows the actors to see both versions of their lines. There have been many excitable discussions about what particular lines mean. What was Shakespeare trying to say? In some instances we may never know for sure!

More to come. Next we will see a filmed example of some text that has been translated.

Friday 2 March 2012



Yesterday our actors, directors and stage manager were given a tour of The Globe. Walking on that great stage should get their juices flowing (not that they weren't already)!

Thursday 1 March 2012



Here are a couple of photos taken this morning.....our ten actors have been busy this week translating 106 pages of text into BSL. They have until 9th March to get through the entire script.

When we all first read through the text a year ago there was a lot of frowning and face-pulling. Love's Labour's Lost is known to be one of Shakespeare's most intellectual plays. There is lots of sophisticated word-play, puns and literary allusions.

Translating the text into BSL with its own unique structure, grammar and syntax is not easy at all. Fortunately, the actors have plenty of support from our two Directors, Paula and Andrew, interpreters Kate and Kathy (see photo above) and stage manager, Georgina. Things have been going well....

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Welcome to Loving and Labouring, Deafinitely Theatre's blog which will follow the preparations for our production of Love's Labour's Lost to be performed at Shakespeare's Globe for their Globe to Globe Festival.

For the festival each of Shakespeare's 37 complete works will be translated into a different language. Deafinitely Theatre was asked to produce one in British Sign Language (BSL).

This week our actors have started work on translating the hallowed script into BSL. It's no easy feat but more about that later....

So, who are Deafinitely Theatre? We are a little company with an office in Kentish Town, London and we've been around for a while. Ten years in fact. This year we're celebrating this momentous anniversary and what better way than performing in one of the world's most famous theatres! We specialise in making plays in British Sign Language that are enjoyed by both deaf and hearing people. The company is led by Deaf people and uses a mixture of Deaf and hearing actors for its plays.