2025 was a very productive year for Deafinitely Theatre! We had two touring productions, The Vagina Monologues in July and Barrier(s) in October and November, stopping at four different cities! We hosted several workshops covering various theatrical topics for both youth and adults and partnered with Royal Central School of Speech and Drama to set up a week long acting course. We're proud of our achievements in 2025 and looking forward to see what we'll succeed in 2026. We hope we'll have you along for the ride for another year!

Read on to find out more about what we did in 2025!

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From January to May, Deafinitely Theatre had 9 Deaf Theatre Makers workshops focusing on 5 different topics: producing, writing, directing, technical theatre & stage management, and funding. Each of the workshops was led by both deaf and hearing professionals. They were an absolute success, with participants giving consistently positive feedback and wanting additional courses to allow them to delve into each area further.

“[Deaf Theatre Makers] brought me an opportunity to learn, develop and collaborate with amazing tutors and classmates in BSL without the need of interpreting, which felt really inclusive. Learning about acting and theatre from the Deaf cultural perspective was empowering.”

— a deaf theatre maker participant

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From October 2024 to February 2025, our annual Deafinitely Youth Theatre provided biweekly workshops for young people aged 14 - 21 years old, introducing new skills and encouraging them to develop their talent. During the half term week in February, these participants put on a play to showcase their new theatre skills. Their horror-centred show Nowhere to Escape was a hit, playing to a packed theatre with 68 audience members at John Lyons Theatre, City Lit! Well done, Deafinitely Youth Theatre!

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Our 2024 production of The Promise returned in April in a cinema format! Mayflower Studios in Southampton presented a film screening as well as a Q&A panel with our Artistic Director Paula Garfield and Cherie Gordon. Then in August, Deafinitely Theatre released The Promise for a limited time via our online rental platform, Deafinitely Digital. 

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After its huge success in Hackney in 2023, The Vagina Monologues was revived for one week in July! There were four shows overall, featuring 10 deaf performers, and two shows were sold out in Sheffield and Birmingham! The turnout was amazing with 1,195 people travelling to watch The Vagina Monologues. The audience described the performances as emotional and phenomenal, full of women empowerment, and commended on the show for breaking taboos. Well done, everyone who was involved in the production!

“It felt really revolutionary to witness these stories told in a way that truly included everyone.”

— exploring exeter and discovering devon review

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In August, we had our annual week-long Deafinitely Youth Theatre summer school at Woodrow High House in Amersham. During the week, we had different workshops led by Paula Garfield and Cherie Gordon, focusing on various theatrical skills. We had 13 young people participating, and they said they enjoyed the week and found it useful in developing their skills. Many of them said they’re considering taking part in more theatre activities in the near future. 

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In September, we set up a BSL acting course with Royal Central School of Speech and Drama for the second time in the row. 19 people took part in the course, where they learned and polished their skills in various theatrical and performing techniques from deaf theatre experts, including script-to-BSL translation, improv, Visual Vernacular, and acting on camera. We received a lot of positive feedback from the participants and facilitators.

“I joined the short course at RCSSD in London twice, in 2024 and 2025. It has been important for me, as it helped me unlock skills I didn’t even realise I had and opened my eyes to what’s possible in performance. I really hope this happens and that it is offered around London so more people can experience how inspiring it is.”

— an acting course participant

deafinitely youth theatre autumn term

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Our annual Deafinitely Youth Theatre autumn term has begun! So far they’ve learnt techniques in movement, Visual Vernacular, writing, and improv. More workshops coming up in the new year, with a final performance in February! Deafinitely Youth Theatre has also gone on a couple enrichment trips, such as having a pre-show Jack and the Beanstalk tour at Lyric Theatre, to see how theatre and backstage work!

barrier(s)

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Barrier(s) was a production two years in the making, and this year it finally reached the stage! The show was written by our alumnus Eloise Pennycott, featuring two deaf performers Em Prendergast and Zoë McWhinney. On its 6-week long tour in October and November, Barrier(s) showed at The Rep, Birmingham, HOME in Manchester, and Camden People’s Theatre in London to both deaf and hearing audiences. During its tour, we also hosted three panels discussing the show and its themes. The show was very well received with a total number of 2,267 people coming to watch! Well done to everyone who was involved!

“Literally blew me away. The acting was amazing as was the story behind it. The staging was phenomenal and how that worked and adapted for each scene was sheer brilliance.”

— an audience member

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After Barrier(s)’s success, we hosted a workshop exploring issues affecting the deaf LGBTQIA+ and queer community, led by Michelle Goodwin and Paula Garfield. This space also allowed participants to share their lived experiences and set up an action plan together to combat these barriers and issues. It was quite an insightful day, with a lot of empathic understanding between the facilitators and participants! Keep an eye out for related vlogs, they're coming to our website very soon!