(written by Foteini Galanopoulou - Vital Xposure)

The VX Labs on Creative Captioning were held over 11 days in Autumn 2024, and featured rehearsed readings of Dial 1 for UK by Mohit Mathur, one of our Wellspring Writers 2023-24 (with Hindi and English subtitles), The Pride of Punjab by Gavi Singh Chera (Punjabi and English subtitles), and 10 Nights by Shahid Iqbal Khan (Urdu and English subtitles), led by Phizzical Productions.

The process uncovered a number of considerations for using creative captioning effectively in theatre, for instance:

• Creative captions have the potential to bring the wider cultural aspects of a piece to life.
• Bilingual captioning in theatre plays that use two spoken languages need to be culturally sensitive to each language.

A key learning was the tension between creativity and accessibility, emphasizing the need to consider ‘who the captions are for’ at the outset.

You can read the full report at Captioning Labs - Vital Xposure.   

Deepa Shastri, Theatre Relationship Manager, Arts Council England, said on the report: “We’re proud to support this exciting research led by Vital Xposure, which explores how bilingual creative captioning can make theatre more inclusive—particularly for wider audiences who are often marginalised because of their intersectionality. By demonstrating the tangible benefits of the inclusive practice, the project has the potential to help normalise captioning practices across the sector. Its intersectional and collaborative approach signals a positive shift in how individuals and organisations embed accessibility and innovation from the very start of the theatre-making process. We look forward to seeing how the programme and its findings evolve with each new lab.”

Selina Busby, Professor of Applied and Social Theatre, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, said on the report: “Accessibility for theatre buildings, makers and audiences needs to be an absolute priority across our industry. Sadly this is not yet the case and access is often an after thought during the production process. This lab considered how things could be different by placing captioning at the heart of the theatre making and rehearsal process along side other design elements in order more fully integrate captions to both improve accessibility and enhance the whole theatre going experience for all audience members.”