Edinburgh Deaf Festival, which runs in tandem with The Fringe, is returning this year despite fears about its survival. However, its organisers Deaf Action warn that, unless a sustainable funding solution is found, 2024 could well bring the curtains down on an event which has succeeded in providing a platform for deaf culture and deaf-led arts.
We urgently need support to make the event sustainable
A highlight of this year’s slimmed-down programme is a new commission, The Ghost of Alexander Blackwood, by an all-deaf team: the writer Nadia Nadarajah; director Benedetta Zanetti; producer Jamie Rea and actors Connor Bryson and Amy Murray.
The production tells the story of Alexander Blackwood, a hugely important figure for the Scottish deaf community. He co-founded the first Deaf Church in 1830 and the world’s first deaf-led organisation, which eventually grew into the charity Deaf Action, in 1835. The visual performances will be in British Sign Language, but will be fully accessible to hearing audiences through sound design and creative captioning.
Philip Gerrard, CEO of Deaf Action, said: “Blackwood was a deaf pioneer, and an important figure in the campaign for deaf people to have equal access and opportunities. Our organisation, and this festival, keep that spirit alive. This year’s event will be a bright and vibrant celebration of deaf theatre, comedy, cabaret and wider culture, with lots for deaf and hearing audiences to enjoy”.
The festival, from 9-18 August, also includes shows by Gavin Lilley, a renowned deaf comedian who specialises in stories about life as a sign language user, traveller, and a weary father of three. Gavin appears across the UK and Europe and has performed alongside John Bishop. It will also be used to campaign for “a fair deal for deaf-led arts”.
While it has received some Creative Scotland support, it has been repeatedly rejected for three-year funding, despite the recommendations of the agency’s own staff.
Gerrard added: “The funding crisis created severe doubts about whether we would be able to hold a festival in 2024, but we managed to survive … for the moment. But we urgently need support to make the event sustainable and allow it to survive and develop, and will be using this year’s festival to campaign for a fair deal for deaf arts, artists and audiences”.
There is deep concern that the deaf-led arts receive proportionally less support than other marginalised groups, despite promises in the Scottish Government’s 2023-2029 British Sign Language (BSL) National Plan. This pledged to make the country the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work and visit.
It further stated that the government would collaborate closely with Creative Scotland to give deaf people “full access to the cultural life of Scotland, and equal opportunities to enjoy and contribute to culture and the arts”. Deaf Action is also concerned with the lack of representation of the deaf community within Creative Scotland’s administration.
The 2024 festival has an extensive programme of tours, workshops, family and children’s activities, all suitable for BSL users. These include tours at the National Galleries of Scotland, the Botanics, Edinburgh Castle and National Museums Scotland. Workshops allow participants to discover more about everything from photography to deaf history. There are children and young people’s workshops on art, interactive storytelling, TV production and more.
There is also a variety of other productions which are holding accessible performances, including Lubna Kerr’s new play Chatterbox, which is part of the Fringe, and the Edinburgh International Festival’s Hamlet.
An “Interpreter on demand” service allows deaf people to arrange an interpreter or captioner for Fringe shows that are not accessible.
