Deaf Brazilian performers will be on the streets of Edinburgh and will also host a wild comedy improv show as part of the fifth annual Edinburgh Deaf Festival (EDF).
The Sign Slam group will be on the Royal Mile this weekend using performance and sign language to encourage interaction between hearing and deaf people.
It’s an approach developed for urban Brazil to raise awareness of Libras, the country’s own sign language.
In Edinburgh the Sign Slam street performance will be part of EDF’s outreach work to encourage greater awareness of British Sign language (BSL) and of the festival – which is run in collaboration with the Fringe.
The group consists of Leonardo Castilho and Anna Luiza Maciel who will also be hosting their own show, also called Sign Slam, one of more than 100 events at this year’s EDF and an undoubted highlight.
Taking place from 7-9 August, it’s a fast-paced and funny improv show where the participants compete to create the funniest, wittiest and most imaginative jokes or stories.
It’s highly interactive and full of visual humour – a dynamic combination of improvisation, audience participation and the creativity in a uniquely deaf-led format.
Audience members vote throughout the event, helping shape the energy and direction of the show in real time.
Combining BSL, International Sign, Visual Vernacular, body expression and visual humour, Sign Slam is accessible across languages and cultures, creating a lively and inclusive experience for audiences of all ages.
EDF is a celebration of deaf culture, language and heritage taking place over 10 days from 7-16 August. It is organised by Deaf Action (the world’s oldest deaf charity and deaf-led organisation which dates back 190 years to 1835).
Other shows ideal for hearing as well as deaf audiences:
- A Night in Sign: A vibrant BSL-led cabaret event. Hosted by Nadeem Islam and featuring performances from acclaimed deaf artist Chris Fonseca alongside some of the UK’s most exciting Deaf creatives.
- Pray for Me: Sarah Adedeji’s raw, intimate and visually striking blend of poetry, movement, dance and live music (by ISRA3L), that explores the barriers, prejudice and cultural assumptions faced by a young black woman from London being raised by a highly religious Nigerian family.
- The Librarians: Step into a world where books burst into life! Meet the wonderfully quirky Miss Book and Mr Page as they discover the adventures hidden in their library of old books. A celebration of everyone’s stories!
- John Smith: Planes, Trains & Misunderstandings: Award-winning comedian John Smith is back with a hilarious new show about travelling the world as a deaf comedian.
- Lights & Lanterns: Step inside our emporium of light and shadow, where history flickers to life and you become part of the spectacle. Try your hand at a 130-year-old magic lantern, create your own hand painted glass slide, and transform into a Victorian projectionist. A playful, physical experience where past and present collide, and where light becomes language.
-Ends-
Notes for editors
- See the Edinburgh Deaf Festival website at https://edinburghdeaffestival.co.uk.
Creative team
- Written and performed by: Sarah Adedeji
- Music written and performed by: ISRA3L
- Director: Harry Jardine
- Movement direction by: Chris Fonseca
Listings details
- Venue: Deaf Action – Blackwood Bar, 49 Albany St, Edinburgh EH1 3QY (Venue 498)
- Time: 21:00
- Dates: 14-16 August
- Duration: 60 mins
- Prices: Full price £16.50, concessions £13
- Age: 14+
- Advisory: Performed in BSL with spoken English interpretation
- Warnings: Distressing or potentially triggering themes
- Tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/pray-for-me
What’s On at EDF
One of this year’s main attractions will be A Night in Sign – Produced by Fuse Theatre, it sees acclaimed deaf actor and theatre maker Nadeem Islam host an evening of quality cabaret by deaf and hard of hearing performers featuring comedy, music, poetry. Among those taking part in a Night in Sign will be:
- Glaswegian Bea Webster’s drag alter-ego Mimi King comes to the stage with a performance that follows a chaotic, genderless deaf alien attempting to understand human behaviour through musicals, performance and audience interaction.
- Chris Fonseca, award-winning dancer and Co-Artistic Director of Fuse Theatre, whose dynamic performances make him one of the UK’s most visible deaf artists.
- Amy Murray, from Glasgow, brings her trademark wit and warmth to the stage with a playful, highly visual performance. In a first for EDF, she will perform in Visual Vernacular (VV)*, a powerful Deaf storytelling artform that combines sign language, mime, movement, facial expression and cinematic techniques to create vivid, immersive stories that can be enjoyed by deaf and hearing audiences alike.
- William Grint: The Deaf Bard explores Shakespeare through the lens of VV and storytelling.
The festival is designed to appeal to all ages and for deaf, hard of hearing and hearing audiences. This year it welcomes:
- Pray For Me: Written and performed by Sarah Adedeji – a powerful new drama exploring faith, deafness and identity, as a Black Deaf woman through poetry, movement and live music by ISRA3L.
- Sign Slam: From Brazil, a highly visual, fast-paced interactive performance blending improv, comedy and audience participation through sign language.
- John Smith: The award-winning deaf comedian returns with a brand-new show Planes, Trains & Misunderstandings about travelling the world as a deaf performer.
- Michael Woods: A presentation by the 36-year-old who, this May, became the first deaf British person to climb Everest.
- The Librarians: The eccentric Miss Book and Mr Page are in a magical library where stories leap from the page. A playful family theatre production performed in BSL and English, combining storytelling, comedy and audience participation in an accessible and imaginative live experience for children and families.
- Lights & Lanterns: Spectroscope offers a beautiful immersive visual storytelling experience – some using a 130-year-old magic lantern. A workshop that combines shadow play, projection, movement and deaf history. It draws inspiration for the work deaf Victorian artists Harry Ash and Harry Bow, connecting historical with contemporary deaf creativity.
Supporters and sponsors: This year’s festival supporters and sponsors are: Creative Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council, Heriot-Watt University, Association of Sign Language Interpreters, The Scotch Whisky Experience, LumoTV.
About Deaf Action
- Deaf Action is a deaf led charity based in Edinburgh, supporting people in Scotland and the South of England – see https://www.deafaction.org
- Founded in 1835 it is the world’s oldest deaf charity and the first formally constituted deaf organisation.
- It exists to support the diversity of deaf people, including deaf users of British Sign Language (BSL), and those who are deafened, deafblind or hard of hearing.
- Deaf Action’s work is geared towards empowering all deaf people to achieve their potential and fully participate in society, with equality of rights, access and opportunity.
- Almost half of the staff are deaf, and many more have grown up with deaf parents or siblings. Deaf Action truly understand the challenges deaf people face, and believes that its collective experience allows it to honestly position itself as having the expertise to unlock deaf people’s potential.
Social media: www.instagram.com/edindeaffestival/ www.twitter.com/EdinDeafFest/ www.facebook.com/EdinDeafFestival/
About Creative Scotland: Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow Creative Scotland on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
For media information contact Matthew Shelley at SFPR on 07786 704 299 or at Matthew@ScottishfestivalsPR.org
