This Masters Research Project addresses the main research question, of how best to create an inclusively designed live theatre performance, in order to increase accessibility with and for a Deaf and Hard of Hearing audience, including their families and friends. This research uses a Mixed Methods approach—combining Autoethnography, Deaf History, Cultural Identity and Linguistics—along with a practical intervention that is designed to deconstruct barriers to inclusion within the live performance dynamic, all leading to a Design Proposal for a more inclusive and accessible form of live theatre. This proposed new design model was arrived at through an iterative research process that combined semi-structured interviews and live engagement in the theatre setting, informed by a program of reading and research. The new design was then tested through a staged mock-up/iteration, wherein different scenarios were tested in order to ascertain which might be most beneficial to improved accessibility standards for live shows.
This research derives from lived experience(s) –as a Deaf person. The purpose of the research is to make a direct intervention into the current state of theatre performance, where there are demonstrable gaps between the accessibility policies and practices of many theatres, with varying standards of accessibility for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) audience members. There are also disparate practices in terms of theatres’ scheduling for accessibility provisions. As a researcher, I intend to propose accessibility supports and contribute to theatre experiences for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. I am motivated by this project because of my personal involvement both as a Deaf person and theatre participant