Theatre access guide promoted

Apr 21 2009 by Our Correspondent, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

PERTH Theatre is helping to pioneer a new access guide to improve access for disabled audiences at theatres across Scotland.

Among people to benefit from the Access Scottish Theatre guide are the deaf and hard of hearing, who can find out about a new system of Captioning at Perth Theatre on Saturday.

The new Access Scottish Theatre guide launched by the Federation of Scottish Theatre highlights more than 80 Captioned, BSL interpreted and Audio Described performances in Scottish theatres.

The event at Perth Theatre between 11.30am and 1pm on Saturday gives an opportunity for members of the public, who may be deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, to find out about Captioning, which is similar to television subtitling.

The event is a drop-by open session with talk and demonstration at noon, plus Access Scottish Theatre and The National Theatre of Scotland information points. There will also be free raffles and refreshments. To register interest or for enquires mairi@scottishtheatre.org or call the Federation of Scottish Theatre Access Project on 0131 220 6393.

The Access Scottish Theatre booklet is available to download at www.accessscottishtheatre.com

There is also an audio CD format which can be requested through the website. The guide is part of a wider access project with events happening across all 14 theatres involved to increase awareness of the services available.

Supported by the Scottish Arts Council, Access Scottish Theatre provides audiences with information to ensure that they can easily find out what’s on, make informed bookings, as well as successfully travelling to and using venues.

Access project manager, Mairi Taylor, said: “There is a great deal of activity happening across Scotland, with accessible performances for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing, and visually impaired audiences regularly programmed by venues and touring companies. However, it can be difficult for audiences to find out what is happening. The guide will help people plan their theatre trips, from finding out what’s on to knowing which are the best seats to book for a particular accessible performance.”

Jim Tough, chief executive of the Scottish Arts Council, commented: “The Access Scottish Theatre guide is a simple yet significant way of improving the accessibility of Scotland’s theatres. The Scottish Arts Council have played an integral role in improving accessibility of Scotland’s theatres in recent years with more BSL interpreted, captioned and audio described performances than ever before and physical improvements to the design of buildings. This guide provides an at-a-glance resource for theatre-goers across the country.”

The guide was launched at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, earlier this month.

More information on Access Scottish Theatre and other access events scheduled across Scotland that give people the opportunity to visit venues and find out more is available from the FST website www.accessscottishtheatre.com or by contacting the Access Project Manager, Mairi Taylor on 0131 220 6393 or mairi@scottishtheatre.org

As well as Perth Theatre, the other venues featuring in the first two editions of the Access Scottish Theatre guide are: His Majesty’s Theatre (Aberdeen); Dundee Rep Theatre; Brunton Theatre, (Musselburgh); Citizens’ Theatre (Glasgow); Tron Theatre (Glasgow); King’s Theatre (Glasgow); Theatre Royal (Glasgow); Lyceum Theatre (Edinburgh); Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh); King’s Theatre (Edinburgh); Edinburgh Festival Theatre; Playhouse Theatre (Edinburgh) and Eden Court (Inverness).