The DaDa team have been taking in shows by Deaf and disabled artists at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023 and keeping an eye out for access initiatives.
Soaking in the atmosphere our Access and Support Coordinator Denise said:
"As I arrived I reflected how 30 years ago I would be happy to volunteer at Fringe for a venue box office in return for a sofa or sometimes just a sleeping bag on the floor! Also, I would run from venue to venue, my £1 tickets leaking print into my sweaty palm. How things have changed! Strolling, tickets all electronic. Now it's "where's my phone?!"; "I can't bring up the QR code because this basement vault of a venue has no signal! The day I arrived I bumped into 2 people I know already, and had dived right in seeing 2 shows. It has been fantastic."
Disabled and d/Deaf led Shows at Fringe
Our team have been on the hunt for innovative and engaging shows at fringe presented by disabled or Deaf artists, and found some truly brilliant perfomances. Some highlights included:
Blue Badge Bunch: Reramped
We can confirm- they are a lovely bunch! A family friendly hilarious, interactive game show where each game helps to understand a different disability.
It’s a Mother F***ing Pleasure
Hot off the back of their smash-hit VAULT and Soho runs, multi award-winning, disability-led theatre company FlawBored present a scathing satire on the monetisation of identity politics that spares no one. Following blind talent manager Tim desperately trying to make disability the next cultural cachet in a satire of the monetisation of identity politics.
129.5 Steps to Autistic Success
Our team thought this was very funny. Being diagnosed with autism just over a year ago might just be the best thing that happened says Stags Woodward. Join him as he shares laughs and adventures and his ambitious 129.5-step plan for success.
Graeae Presents 'Self-Raising'
Growing up Deaf in a family with a secret concealed from both her and her siblings, shaped Jenny Sealey’s childhood. Discovering the truth a few years ago, she was sent into a spin as she realised that her life could have been so very different. Now, the award-winning Artistic Director of disabled-led theatre company Graeae is ready to share her experience with an audience in Self-Raising, a blisteringly honest, reflective, and often laugh-out-loud funny one-woman show. A really moving show and, as you would expect, creative access very well integrated into the heart of it.
Elf & Duffy: The Heist
Very funny (and rude) with wonderful integrated access. A hysterically funny physical show with Visual Vernacular (VV), conducted in British Sign Language with some very violent live sound foley. Duffy and Elf are friends. Duffy signs, Elf doesn’t. Elf speaks, Duffy doesn’t. Let’s see how this works out.
Wonder Drug - A Comedy About Cystic Fibrosis
This show managed to be funny, entertaining, and informative with brilliant balance.
A relaxed performance is available on 22nd Aug and you can book here:
Deaf Action Presents: Fàilte Gu BSL/Welcome to BSL with Evie Waddell
Fàilte Gu BSL (Welcome to BSL) is an immersive showcase of Gaelic and Scots signed-songs celebrating different aspects of traditional culture. Combining stories, dance and signing with the songs, this show explores opportunities for d/Deaf people to own their space within Scottish culture.
Neurodiverse Review Also pulled together a list of Top 10 disabled or neurodiverse shows that are worth a look.
DaDa Alumni Receive Warm Fringe Welcome
It has been wonderful to see former DaDa artists receiving a briliant response to their work at fringe. A few we spotted were:
Sex. Love. Lettuce. Join gorgeous clown Trash Salad after a sell-out 2022 run, on her quest for connection: a genre-bending burlesque adventure, using lip sync, strip tease and song on a mission to understand intimacy. Some call it a clown opera, a sexual odyssey, a compost-heap romance. Trash calls it a joyful queer-femme love story in the shape of a salad. Fantastic to see this DaDa artist receiving rave reviews.
Still some shows running you can book for here.
Meet Fran. Today is the worst day of her life. Meet Brendan. Today is his last day alive. 24, 23, 22 is a gig-theatre show about the heat of the moment, and how our impulses create ripples which become waves. Join our cast of two, armed with handheld mics and an onstage beat-maker, for this little earthquake of a show.
Running until 27th August you can book here
Arts and Access at Fringe
As always we keep our ears and eyes to the ground for initiatives that make arts and cultural events more inclusive. As we travelled around fringe we spotted a few that we were pleased to see including.
Sensory Backpacks
With a wide range of sensory tools available, anyone is welcome to pick up a bag, plus the items you want to use from the Fringe Box Office throughout the festival.
Sign Live App
Having visited Deaf Action at the start of the Deaf Festival week at Edinburgh we were made aware of the 'Sign Live' app available on Apple and Anderoid devices to access BSL support 24/7. There is a charge for the service on a rolling 1 month contract basis, but worth a look.
Advice on Deaf Communication at Graeae
We liked Graeae Theatre's do's and don'ts sheet offered out at their performances to give people insight into Deaf communication.
Rules stating how NOT to communicate with a Deaf person included:
- Always shout
- Cover your mouth with your hand
- Turn your back to them
- Grow a very full beard or sport a long untidy moustache
- Stand with your back to the light making lip reading difficult
- Chew gum or talk with your mouth full
- Gesture wildly, waving your hands in front of your face
- Exaggerate your lip pattern
- Speak very, very slowly
- Speak as you would to a small child
And advice on how to communicate with a Deaf person read:
- Ensure good lighting on your face
- Speak clearly
- Speak at your natural pace
- Make eye contact
- Keep to the point
- Use your natural gesture
- Use writing if you get stuck
- Remember that communication is a two way thing
- Just be you
- Don’t give up
Have you spotted any brilliant Deaf or disabled artists during your time in Edinburgh we should know about? Or any access initiatives that would be great for us to learn from for DaDaFest International, heading into our 40th year next year? Do use the contact form on our website to drop us a line.