Deafinitely Theatre is thrilled to announce the cast for our autumn production BARRIER(S)! Watch the video and read ahead to find out who will be in the show and a bit more about their work!

synopsis

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Love has no single language. 

Alana and Katie come from different worlds. One is hearing, one is deaf. Together, they navigate the joys and struggles of love, communication and survival in a world that keeps putting up barriers. When the world tries to silence you, how can you hold on to love? 

Eloise Pennycott’s BARRIER(S) is a powerful and intimate love story. Full of warmth, humour and the fight to be understood. Critically acclaimed for its honesty and gripping storytelling, BARRIER(S) is a theatrical experience that speaks volumes – even without words. 

click to grab your tickets!

meet our cast!

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Em Prendergast (they/them) ​They often work in a mixture of integrated BSL (British Sign Language), SSE (Sign Supported English) and Spoken English. Theatre credits include The Odyssey (National Theatre), Animal Farm (Leeds Playhouse), A Clear Comfort (Van Gogh House), A Christmas Carol (Hull Truck, Leeds Playhouse), Messy, Night Shift (Zoo Co Theatre), The Witchfinder’s Sister (Queen’s Theatre), Resisters (Yellow Arch Studios), Amelia (South Streets Art Centre), Winter Wonderland (Hull New Theatre), Alice in Wonderland (Global English Theatre), Hysteria (Catalyst Festival), Dracula (The Loco Klub), Welcome to Thebes (Tobacco Factory), The Wizard of Oz (Redgrave Theatre) and Under Milk Wood (UK tour). Television credits include Doctors and EastEnders. Prendergast also recently participated in the 2025 Soho Writers lab, developing a lesbian adaptation of Yerma.

Zoë McWhinney (she/they) Theatre credits at Deafinitely Theatre include Everyday (UK tour). Other theatre credits include Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare’s Globe), A Night in Sign (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse), Can Bears Ski, Lillies on the Land (UK Tour), Red (Polka Theatre), Fidelio (Barbican Centre), Sleeping Beauty (CAST Theatre), Iconoclast (Zoo Co Theatre), 48% (Torshovteatret Norway Theatre), Fisherman’s Friend (The MAC Belfast). Television credits include Small World.  She is a graduate of École de Théâtre Universelle’s ‘Visual Theatre in French Sign Language’ program, and was runner-up for BSL Poet Laureate in both 2023–2024 and 2025–2026. She was nominated for the ‘Forward Poetry Prize in the Performance’ category for her piece The Portrait and the Skylight. Her work also includes consulting for the RSC on BSL, also contributing to Dead Centre’s stage adaptation of Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic, which was performed at the Royal Court and Dublin Theatre Festival.