A deaf-led theatre company, D-Live!, is giving deaf students a chance to share their experiences of the pandemic through a new theatre project.
With many young people across the UK experiencing isolation, grief and disruption to their education, D-Live! hopes the project will ensure young deaf people’s voices are heard.
The Big Dreams project will give young deaf people aged 11-14 the chance to take part in a series of workshops that will develop their skills in filmmaking, editing, 3D art and visual storytelling.
The workshops will be led D-Live’s team of artists alongside Artistic Director Steven Vevers-Webb, who brings over 25 years of experience as an actor, director, writer and workshop facilitator.
The sessions will be held at The Thomas Aveling School and by the end, the organisers hope the students will be able to use their newly developed skills to create their own piece of digital theatre.
D-Live! Artistic Director Steven Vevers-Webb said the theatre company is “very proud” to be working with Icon Theatre and Theatre31 on this new project, and he hopes it will enable Medway to become “a hub of British Sign Language.”
Icon Theatre Founder and Artistic Director Nancy Hirst said they are “thrilled” to be working with DLive! on a programme which is “built on the belief that access to arts and culture is a child’s right, not a privilege.”
“We share in D-Live!’s vision that theatre should be accessible and inclusive, and we’re so excited to join them on their journey to create a unique genre of theatre that is inherently deaf and appreciated by all.
“Big Dreams is a fantastic opportunity for deaf young people in Medway to connect with and learn from professional artists, who will empower them with the skills to tell their stories in their own way,” she said.
