Marking International Sign Language Day 2023, Deafinitely Theatre presents a special charity fundraising performance of V’s acclaimed The Vagina Monologues in British Sign Language (BSL) and Spoken English directed by Paula Garfield.
Performed by a mix of 20 deaf and hearing women and non-binary people from all walks of life, the one-off performance will raise much-needed money for the charity Deaf-initely Women, which provides essential services to make sure all deaf women are able to live free from abuse. This performance takes place on Saturday 23 September at 7:30pm, at Hackney Empire.
Artistic Director of Deafinitely Theatre, Paula Garfield said today: "I am thrilled that we are staging a one night only performance of The Vagina Monologues to raise funds for Deaf-initely Women. For our 20th anniversary production, Everyday in 2022, I was grateful to work with and learn from many domestic abuse survivors and field leaders, including several IDVAs (Independent Domestic Violence Advocates) who work in a professional capacity to help rebuild the lives impacted by domestic abuse. We know that organisations that support domestic abuse survivors face unprecedented pressures and by raising funds during this special performance, Deaf-initely Women will be able to provide accessible training opportunities and create more qualified deaf IDVAs. The Vagina Monologues is a play that celebrates women and gives us back our voices in places where they are being silenced. The play famously draws on the experiences of women and girls over the world, bringing us together. No matter your age, race, religion, gender, deafness, disability, education level, no matter where you are from, there is something in this performance for you."
Teresa Waldron, CEO of Deaf-initely Women said today, “We are delighted that Deafinitely Theatre is staging a one-night performance of The Vagina Monologues from deaf women’s perspectives, highlighting the struggles that deaf and deafblind women endure in silence. Their fundraising efforts will help us to recruit more deaf and deafblind women to become fully trained Independent Domestic Violence Advocates. This will help us to support more deaf and deafblind survivors of abuse”.
Deafinitely Theatre presents
a special one-off charity fundraising performance
THE VAGINA MONOLOUGES
By V
Directed by Paula Garfield
In British Sign Language (BSL) and Spoken English
Saturday 23 September 2023, 7.30pm
Hackney Empire
Written almost 20 years ago, The Vagina Monologues is based on writer V’s “Vagina Interviews” conducted with 100 women all around the world. This collection of funny, lively and emotional monologues represents the untold experiences of women in a powerful theatrical experience presented for the first time in a BSL performance at this scale; an unmissable celebration of womanhood and sexuality.
The proceeds will support Deafinitely Women to find and train more deaf people to become qualified Independent Domestic Violence Advocates, a specialist professional who works closely with domestic abuse survivors. The UK desperately need more IDVAs as there are only 10 deaf IDVAs to cover the whole of the British Isles.
On International Sign Language Day, Deafinitely Theatre is proud to be a part of this play’s legacy raising money to support the end of violence against deaf women.
Paula Garfield directs. For Deafinitely Theatre she has also directed Everyday, 4.48 Psychosis, Horrible Histories – Dreadful Deaf, Contractions – which won the Off West End Award for Best Production, Two Chairs, Motherland, Children of a Greater God, Playing God, Double Sentence and Gold Dust. She also devised and directed The Boy and the Statue for Deafinitely at the Tricycle Theatre and on a London schools’ tour. Garfield has directed two productions at Shakespeare’s Globe – Love Labour’s Lost, for the Globe to Globe Festival as part of Deafinitely’s 10th anniversary, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Her other directing work includes Tanika’s Journey (Southwark Playhouse) Grounded (Park Theatre).
An actor, director, workshop leader and organiser, Garfield has worked on a variety of television, film and theatre projects over the past fifteen years. In 2002 she established Deafinitely Theatre with Steven Webb and Kate Furby after becoming frustrated at the barriers that deaf actors and directors face across the arts and media. She has produced and directed many plays and worked extensively in TV, including Channel Four’s Learn Sign Language, Four Fingers and a Thumb, BBC’s Hands Up and Casualty, plus appearances in every series of the BBC's deaf drama, Switch.
