Yusuf's Journey: Experiencing Audio Described Performances at the National Theatre (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: A young man uses a white cane as he walks along London's South Bank to the National Theatre.

Speaker 2: My name is Yusuf. I've been coming to the National for a number of years now. Why not come and join me today on my visit?

Speaker 1: Yusuf arrives at the Dorfman Theatre where he's greeted by Ruben Lane, a customer service assistant.

Speaker 2: I always come to an audio described performance that has a touch tour.

Speaker 1: In the auditorium, a giant transparent disc tilts. On stage, blind and partially sighted people are gathered around the disc. At the touch tour, audio describer Andrew Holland gives an overview of the set.

Speaker 2: The audio describer will give a brief introduction to the stage and then we'll continue to wander around meeting actors and backstage crew.

Speaker 1: Yusuf's hand runs along the metal edge of the disc. The disc hangs about a metre and a half above the stage, suspended on slender black supports. Yusuf explores the height of one. The actor, Olivia Coleman, watches a woman handle a white shirt. She laughs with Yusuf as he investigates the soft pink pregnancy bump she wears during the play. Then he crouches to touch a cluster of yellow tulips. The touch tour ends with applause for the actors and production team who joined in. At the foyer, Yusuf sits at a table, his fingers running over a sheet of braille.

Speaker 2: On the day of the performance, it is possible to take a braille or large print cast list and also to listen to some pre-performance audio notes delivered by the audio describer over the headset.

Speaker 1: The describer's booth, describer Andrew Holland.

Speaker 3: In the centre of the space, a silver ball appears like a planet or perhaps a particle in a scientific model.

Speaker 4: My name is Tony McBride and I'm one of the describers here at the National Theatre. Any information that we provide is helping the audience member keep up with the story and so just providing the plot-crucial information that's being told on a visual or sub-textual level beyond what we can hear. BELL RINGS

Speaker 2: The show is about to start. Let's go and find my seat.

Speaker 1: Yusuf's seated in the audience, overlooking the stage.

Speaker 2: Part of going to the theatre is about listening, watching, experiencing what's happening on stage, but it's also about responding to what's happening in the audience as well. Listening to audio description makes me feel a part of that audience.