Access to live arts
Access to live art at BATS is going even further. Those who are d/Deaf, blind or have low vision, or who can’t physically make it into the theatre, can now enjoy more live art via live streaming, captioning and audio description.
Funding from the ANZ Staff Foundation will enable BATS to work with up to 10 productions between May and July this year. BATS wants to do better to support disabled artists and their community, not only increasing accessibility to creative work but by championing work made by and for d/Deaf and disabled communities.
BATS chief executive Jonty Hendry says theatre “has the power to unite and uplift, and it is our responsibility as artists to ensure that the live theatre experience is accessible to everyone”. The BATS Digital Delivery had shown that live theatre could be inclusive to everyone given the right equipment, specialist skills and support.
Helen Vivienne Fletcher, a disabled Wellington-based writer and theatre artist, will be bringing her production Confessions of a Sleepwalking Insomniac to the BATS stage in June. The show will not only have a New Zealand Sign Language Interpreter but live streaming with captioning will also be included.
“The disability community is a close-knit group. As a disabled theatre practitioner, it can be really hard knowing that your production might exclude your friends,’’ Fletcher said. ‘‘I’m so excited to create this show knowing that everyone will be able to attend.”
BATS will be including some audio described performances for blind and low vision audience members. The audio describer narrates what’s happening on stage and it is transmitted to wireless receivers and headsets worn by audience members.