Spotlight on… Creating BSL integrated performances at the WATERMILL THEATRE
Photo credit: Jamie Ledwith
In December, the Watermill Theatre in Newbury was announced as one of six nominated venues by The Stage for Theatre of the Year. This is a remarkable achievement having won jointly with the National Theatre the same title in 2024, and is a ringing endorsement of the way that the venue has responded since losing its Arts Council of England National Portfolio status in November 2022, leaving a gap of approximately £450,000 of annual funding to fill. Not only have they gone on to produce a remarkable slate of successful shows each year, many of which have gone on to tour to other venues, such as The Lord of the Rings, Fanny, and Barnum, grown audiences and replaced the lost income, but also continued to deliver against its charitable objectives. The Watermill’s mission is to promote, maintain, improve and advance education, particularly by the production of educational plays and the encouragement of the arts. Its core values are Inclusivity and Equity, Creativity, Sustainability and Community.
Their work with local communities has grown with youth theatre and specialist workshops at the Watermill expanding, an additional home education group and new sessions reaching local young people. The Careers in the Arts programme, in partnership with the Corn Exchange, has gone from strength to strength engaging over 13,000 young people in everything from careers fairs and work experience to workshops and traineeships. A great example of its impact was securing funding to welcome almost 400 children from low-income families to enjoy Pinocchio at the venue last Christmas. Thanks to funding from Greenham Trust, they were able to ensure 99 performances were offered with additional access provision, including integrated BSL interpretation, audio description and closed captioning. For a venue of the size, the commitment and effort to deliver this is inspiring and the nomination a testament to the whole teams’ efforts. In early 2025, they staged Emil and the Detectives, a vibrant production by their Youth Ensemble, featuring physical theatre, BSL integration, and creative input from young performers to tell the tale of Emil chasing a thief in 1920s Berlin.
Besties, we chatted to the co-Chief Executive Claire Murray and the Outreach team about how they will go about creating these tailored performances to support inclusivity and access. For their summer hit musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, they offered one relaxed performance attended by 178 people, two audio described and captioned performances and two BSL interpreted performances attended by 388 people, including providing 112 essential companion tickets. For the current charming The Little Mermaid production, which runs until 4 January, they offered a relaxed performance on 7 & 9 December, with audio/captioned performances on 13 & 14 December, and signed performances on 14 & 29 December.
Claire explained that the team invest a significant amount of time and resource into integrating the BSL interpretation – creating an additional element to the show, which means that deaf and hard of hearing audiences can see the interpretation within the action itself. Many of you will have seen a BSL interpreter stood in front of the Proscenium Arch in a spotlight signing the action on stage which, at least, gives those who need the assistance knowledge of what is being said, BUT it is very difficult to watch the signer as well as the onstage action. The answer, of course, is to integrate the signing into the stage performance so it can be viewed simultaneously as the story unfolds. We went along to meet some of those involved in the process of creating this and to watch rehearsals.
The Little Mermaid opened on 29 November to very strong reviews and on 5 December, after a morning performance, the cast reconvened for a “stagger through” with the two BSL signers, Eloise Pennycott (a young deaf actress) and Lixi Chivas, one of the theatre’s Community Associates (who also provides the captioning with Min Gilby, and audio description). They become alter egos to the speaking characters mirroring their actions and words. This requires carefully planning and some re-blocking of the show to ensure the whole audience can fully enjoy the performance. It also requires the two interpreters to play the different roles showing their emotions and reactions.
It is all overseen by the Company Stage Manager Cat Pewsey and the BSL Consultant Ciaran Stewart to ensure it honours the original direction by Elgiva Field and that the BSL interpreters’ hands can be clearly seen and Eloise, who lip reads, can see her cues. That also, therefore, requires adjustment to the lighting state to ensure that the extra cast on stage are illuminated consistently with the original design.
It was fascinating watching the actors working through each scene, learning some BSL to incorporate in their own performance and solving the various issues that arise. When Kitto hands Senara a cup to drink from, they realise they now need three cups to include the additional actors. When the two characters sit on a small box to drink, where should the other two stand? As you can imagine, it takes some time to work through each scene and then there is just one full dress performance before they share the adaptation with the live audiences. But there was a real sense of joy watching them create something so special and unique.
The importance of this effort is to create that sense of shared inclusive experience and whether you’re hearing or deaf, you can both enjoy the theatrical performance in the same way. Indeed, the integration adds something special to the performances and whether you need the assistance or not, the magical air of the show is enhanced by the additions. This is the way forward, but it takes time and effort and a creative flair to make it succeed and, of course, that also entails costs and this work is only possible thanks to funding from Greenham Trust.
It may not always be possible to fully integrate the interpreters into a production, but the ambition and effort and continued support of Outreach work is to be admired and applauded. Perhaps this extraordinary work will also secure them a second win in three years in The Stage Awards and that would be a truly magical achievement.
Nick Wayne