A vital element to the enjoyment for a blind or partially sighted audience is the welcome you get at the theatre. No names, no pack drill, but there is a great theatre in London which I have not been to for ages because the meet and greet I received from them made me feel uncomfortable; that impression has been a lasting one.
When I go to the bar in the interval and try to order G&T’s for me and my wife, it can be difficult as the bar person won’t see my guide dog and it is very difficult for me to make eye contact, so pre-ordering our drinks really helps. If the bar staff are aware that the performance is being audio described they will need to consider how best to serve description users.
Recently I spent an afternoon at the Wyvern Theatre in Swindon with managers, Box Office staff, volunteer ushers as well as hospitality and catering staff. I was leading a visual impairment awareness session, including how to meet and greet, the dos and don’ts, appropriate language, guiding techniques, drawing attention to the potential barriers to enjoyment. The whole theatre needs to be involved to make sure I and others like me have a good time. It’s basic Customer Care, of course, and if you get it right for me, you’ll probably get it right for the whole of your audience.
Knowing that cost and lack of audience are two major barriers to more theatres programming audio described performances for blind and partially sighted people, VocalEyes made a successful funding application to the 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust to underwrite a number of touring productions. In our application, we allocated part of the funding to support marketing.
I was visiting Swindon as the first audio described performance under this scheme was at the Wyvern at the end of April. ‘Journey’s End’ would also be the theatre’s first ever audio described performance.
We visited the theatre a good couple of months before the date of the performance to talk about how things would all work on the day (including technical issues) but also to go through the best ways of marketing to, and engaging with, the local blind and partially sighted community.
The theatre had some links already with local blind and partially sighted associations, societies, groups and individuals, which needed to be maximised. One of the simplest and most effective ways of marketing to blind and partially sighted people is actually the most obvious, face to face, well, perhaps phone to phone. If you have a database of access users just pick up the phone and call them to let them know what is on. It will get passed on, as word of mouth really works!
We at VocalEyes have built up links with national groups, but also with local talking newspapers which provide a wonderful service bringing local news and information to blind and partially sighted people in audio format. This is a great way of reaching the community and I was interviewed by Swindon Talking Newspaper both about Journey’s End at the Wyvern and also how audio description works and what it is all about. I was able to talk about how much I get out of the service. It is enormously pleasing that my wife Sara (who is sighted) and I can go to a performance at the theatre and both enjoy and share that experience. I first heard about audio description from another user and am an avid attender now; it really makes a difference to hear from another blind person first hand.
My colleague Michael Kenyon and I visited some of the groups to talk about audio description and highlight Journey’s End at the Wyvern. Many of the local groups have monthly or even weekly meetings and events and if you can plan it, this is a great opportunity to tell them about the audio described performance, and to cement the link between the theatre and the groups.
We also recommended that the Wyvern promote the audio described performance to the general public as not only is it a great story but it also demonstrates how committed the theatre is to opening up their performances to the wider community. Additionally, of course, other audience members may have a friend or family member with poor vision who could benefit from the audio description service. In the general press release for Journey’s End at the Wyvern the audio described performance was therefore highlighted.
A little bit of thought in advance is often the key to a successful and happy visit – for both audience and theatre staff. And once you have won over that audience, they will keep coming back – it’s really worth the effort.
We are looking forward to supporting more theatres and touring productions and helping you to forge links with that blind and partially sighted audience out there, eager to experience the magic of theatre.
Toby Davey, Deputy Director, VocalEyes
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