The Dukes, Lancaster
PRESS RELEASE
Audio-described and sign-interpreted theatre performances at the Dukes in March/April 2002
The Dukes is delighted to offer an audio-described performance for blind and visually impaired people for their theatre production of Closer in March. Later on in the spring season there will be a sign-interpreted performance for people with hearing difficulties for Monster Productions, A Street of Strangers.
Anne Hornsby will be the audio-describer for Closer at the performance on Thursday 28th March at 7.30pm. Anne will offer a short touch tour of the set and will mention the characters, the costumes and lighting that are going to feature in the show, enabling blind and visually impaired people to have a much clearer mental picture of what is happening onstage alongside normally sighted members of the audience.
Closer is the story of four strangers who meet and fall in love. A passionate, darkly funny play full of razor sharp wit, Closer is a brutal anatomy of modern love about the kindness of strangers and the cruelty of desire. Set in modern day London, Alice, Dan, Larry and Anna’s lives and passions become entangled as they all meet each other by chance or by design, in cyberspace, through a lens, over the phone and face to face. They become friends, lovers and enemies, and then friends again.
For deaf people, the Dukes have planned a British Sign Language interpreted performance for Saturday 27th April at 2pm for Street of Strangers, presented by Monster Productions. This is a family show for children aged from nine years to ninety-nine! It is a play based on three interlocking stories drawn from three different cultures: a story from the Sufi tradition of the Middle East is followed by a macabre comedy from Italy ending with a tale from North Africa. The interpreter for this show is locally-based signer Kyra Pollitt.
A limited number of free tickets are available to people who would like to try out these services, and for both these shows there will be an opportunity for users to give feedback afterwards.
These initiatives are part of the Dukes’ objective to appeal to all sections of the community and to make the Dukes a welcoming and accessible venue.
This has been made possible by funding from the New Audience Development Project at the North West Arts Board. The Dukes has also had a new infra-red system fitted in the auditorium to assist people with hearing difficulties. The system can be used alongside normal hearing aids or with a personal headset.
For more details please contact the Dukes