Date: Saturday 23 May 2026 | 09:30 - 17:30
Location: National Theatre of Scotland, Glasgow
As part of the development for The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy & Tentacle Girl by Vee Smith & Sadiq Ali, Catherine Wheels and All or Nothing are delighted to offer a workshop for BSL Interpreters exploring how to integrate BSL into aerial and circus performances.
While great developments have been made to integrate BSL Interpretation into theatre and dance performance, aerial and circus pose a new challenge as the performers often deliver their dialogue at height. With a BSL interpreter on the ground and the performer overhead, the audience member is consequently required to shift their gaze between the stage spaces, ultimately ruining their immersion in the creative world the artist has hoped to create.
During the presentation of their aerial theatre performance for young audiences, The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy & Tentacle Girl in August 2025, Vee Smith & Sadiq Ali worked with BSL Interpreter Karen Forbes to experiment with flying the BSL interpretation alongside the artists on stage to great effect.
“This performance is accessible, and a BSL interpreter is suspended and dropped in from above, blending in with the style of the performance, which is wonderful—the theatrical interpreter is expressive and playful” British Theatre Guide
Thanks to funding from Creative Scotland, Vee Smith & Sadiq Ali are delighted to now be able to work with Karen Forbes and Jen Paterson, Artistic Director of All or Nothing, to explore this technique further to create a memorable and immersive experience for Deaf audiences.
In order to share this learning across the sector we would like to invite 5 BSL interpreters to join us for a day of learning, confidence building and skills development where they can experience working at height safely while delivering BSL for aerial and circus performances. During the day you will:
- See a sharing of The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy & Tentacle Girl and join in conversation with young people from Solar Bear’s Youth Theatre
- Hear how to approach this style of interpretation
- Learn basic safety skills for moving at height including harness use
- Learn basic flying skills and try out different techniques
Who Is It For: Professional BSL Interpreters who have some experience of working in live performance and who would like to extend their skillset. Please note that this is a practical workshop and attendees will be learning to work 3-4meters in the air so a head of heights is needed!
Fees: This workshop is free to attend and Catherine Wheels can provide a travel bursary of up to £25 to support attendance.
How to Book: We have 5 places available. To book in please email Kirsty Somerville, Associate Producer, at Kirsty@catherinewheels.co.uk with a copy of your CV and confirmation of whether you require a travel bursary. Places will be offered on a first come first served basis with a closing date of Monday 18 May 2026.
Any Questions: Please contact Kirsty Somerville on Kirsty@catherinewheels.co.uk