Behind You !

Last year, as a result of the success of the NEC, the Bears awarded Friends for Young Deaf People £2,000.00 to stage a drama performance by deaf actors for a deaf audience! This challenge was taken up, and on the 27th of November the doors opened for two performances of Cinderella at the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill, Surrey.  Both the Matinee and Evening shows were a sell out, with young deaf people coming from all over the country.

Joe and I were invited and found ourselves to be guests of honour, seated next to the Deputy Mayor of East Grinstead (FYD’s base). Joe, not often seen wearing a tie, felt grossly under-dressed sitting next to a man dressed in full mayoral regalia.

The performance started with an introduction from a hearing actor who then went away to learn sign language, in order to communicate with the audience and his fellow actors. From then on all of the actors signed, with an interpreter in the orchestra pit for those of us who could hear. 

The pantomime was hilarious and the audience loved it. There was even a part where both the cast and audience sang, either by speech or with sign language - this was so popular they did it twice!

It was only when placed in such a situation do you begin to realise that deaf youngsters cannot begin to enjoy the interactive fun of a pantomime because they simply cannot hear what is being said on stage.  After a couple of ‘Behind You’s’ and a few ‘Oh Yes He Did’, the audience really got into the swing of things and were all in fits of laughter.

The amount of effort put into rehearsals and by the Producer, Marcel Hirshman, FYDs Development Officer, must have required a huge amount of work, determination and co-operation and this was reflected throughout the evening.  Well done FYD and thank you to the Bears for helping it to happen.

Anne Rayner

Charities Co-ordinator