Some of the things I get involved in doing seem particularly worthwhile. So it was great to be able to host and open a workshop on Theatre Sign-Language Interpreting today at the Embassy.
The British Council first introduced this concept, to help deaf and hard of hearing Hungarians to enjoy the theatre more fully, a decade ago. But the idea needs reinvigorating and so they have worked with the new Hungarian organisation Decibel 90 (referring to a deafness threshold), Parliament’s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board and practitioners Theatresign (who have interpreted Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and many other shows) to get this workshop series off the ground.
Many theatres here are now committed to backing this initiative – which is basically about allowing those with disabilities to enjoy their cultural rights.
It was a great surprise, just before the workshop, for me to receive a message from Brian May of Queen which I could share with the participants – expressing his pleasure that this event was happening at the Embassy. As he said “Enjoy the course – ROCK!”. The full text of his message and the notes on which I based my remarks to the participants are attached for those who are interested.