Rose (right) as Celia, with Leah Harvey as Rosalind in As You Like It
(Picture: Manuel Harlan)Rose Ayling-Ellis said the new production of As You Like It sets the benchmark for inclusive theatre in the West End.
Staged at @sohoplace – the first new theatre built in the West End for 50 years, the retelling of the Shakespeare comedy incorporates the use of British Sign Language (BSL) and is captioned throughout via screens set on all four sides of the theatre making it accessible to the entire audience.
Ayling-Ellis, 28, who is deaf, told the Standard: “We’ve got a West End show that captions all the show; if we can do it, [the rest of] the West End can do it.
“I think people who don’t watch Shakespeare at all probably expect to come in and find it really hard, but the captions, the feeling, the energy, the signs make it actually accessible to people who don’t really understand Shakespeare.”
Director Josie Rourke added: “I think the really cool thing about this production is it has found this exquisite way to accommodate the captions in the performance so they look really beautiful and considered and like they are part of the design of the show and for inclusivity, that’s exactly what a modern theatre needs to do.”
Last year, Ayling-Ellis was the first deaf contestant to take part in BBC dance competition Strictly Come Dancing, which she won with professional partner Giovanni Pernice. Their silent dance routine during one episode won the must-see moment nod at the BAFTA TV awards.
She described making her West End debut as “amazing”, adding: “I feel so lucky and privileged to be here and to have this amazing opportunity to learn from a great director and get into the craft of rehearsals because in TV you don’t get the luxury of having that long rehearsal time and you have an audience to see their reaction, and that is what I love. It’s just lovely to have so much support.”
