Theatre & Arts
Theatre
Claire has pioneered working on semi-scripted shows, incorporated scripted material, delivered either in recordings or read-aloud text, with improvised material, sometimes using members of the audience or just giving the performers the chance to be spontaneous.
The subtitles are usually displayed on caption units above the stage. Scripted material and song lyrics are generated line-by-line for greater accuracy, but the live subtitles can be returned to instantly if the show goes off script.
Bullet Catch – National Theatre
Backstage in Biscuit Land, Touretteshero – Soho Theatre
Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model, Bryony Kimmings – Soho Theatre
Fake it Til you Make it, Bryony Kimmings – Edinburgh and Soho Theatre
One Man, Two Guvnors – National Theatre (working with a captioner)
Just a Few Words, Nye Russell-Thompson – SouthbankCentre
My Perfect Mind, Told by an Idiot – Young Vic and national tour
The Illusionists – Shaftesbury Theatre
Mark Thomas, Cuckoo – Tricycle Theatre
Mark Thomas, Trespass – Tricycle Theatre
Exceptional and Extraordinary Events, Julie McNamara – various venues
Ten Billion, Stephen Emmott – Royal Court Theatre
Live Comedy
Claire particularly relishes the challenge of live comedy and puts many hours into preparation, from an audio recording or a previous performance.
The live subtitles are accurate and are right up with the delivery, meaning the deaf audience have full access. The subtitles are usually displayed on a projector or plasma screen near the performer.
Josh Widdicombe: The Further Adventures Of
Bridget Christie, An Ungrateful Woman and A Bic For Her
Tony Law, Enter the Tonezone and Nonsense Overdrive
Keith Farnan, No Blacks. No Jews. No Dogs. No Irish. All Welcome
Mark Watson – Work in Progress, 2010
Abnormally Funny People – 2008 to present
Josie Long – Cara Josephine
John Kearns – Schtick
Zoe Coombs-Marr (Edinburgh Fringe 2016) – Trigger Warning
Monty Python, Live at the O2 (for one audience member)
Music
Outputting song lyrics is often required at events, and sometimes Claire is asked to cover music events where there are many songs as well as spoken linking passages between the songs. Song lyrics, famously hard to decipher, are inputted into the software in advance so they can be outputted line by line, and then the spoken passages are written live. Song lyrics are now widely available on the internet, so as long as Claire has the title she can usually find the lyrics.
Deaf people are fully able to enjoy music (see this article about BSL interpreting of rap https://mic.com/articles/145643/this-is-what-it-s-like-listening-to-music-as-a-deaf-person#.5ti1RMzLv) and with the help of the text can have a great experience of a music event.
Bourgeois & Maurice – How to Save the World Without Really Trying
Elvis Live in Concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (for one audience member)
Museum & Gallery Talks
Claire has worked extensively throughout London on museum and gallery talks, on exhibitions as diverse as Japanese Snow, Sunken Cities and War Art and Surgery. The talks are usually 60-90 minutes but require a lot of preparation as the language used is detailed and dense. Provision of a PowerPoint or script in advance helps with accuracy. The Q&A session afterwards can often be the most challenging as the speaker can draw on any examples in response to a challenging question.
Hunterian Museum: Vesalius, Gideon Mantell
British Museum: Drawing in Silver and Gold
Royal Collection: Regal Ragouts
National Maritime Museum: Cook’s Voyages
Wallace Collection: House of Schonborn
Wellcome Collection: Disorders of Consciousness, Mark Haddon in conversation
National Gallery: Peter Balke and Frederic Edwin Church
Author Readings
Similar to semi-scripted shows, author readings provide their own challenges. Often the authors do not decide on which extracts to read until the evening of the event, so Claire takes photos of notes with her iPad during the sound check, and preps the script at the last minute. Preparation for the Q&A will also involve research into the writer’s other works and influences.
Ben Okri and Jeremy Corbyn – Royal Festival Hall
Caitlin Moran – SouthBank Centre
Alan Bennett – National Theatre Platforms
Hilary Mantel – London Literature Festival
Richard Dawkins – London Literature Festival
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks – Jewish Book Week
Festivals
The frenetic atmosphere of the Southbank festivals, particularly Women of the World, is one of the highlights of Claire’s year! Covering up to five events per day, co-working with another stenographer, the pace is relentless but accuracy is still key. Each panel will have several speakers with their own notes and speeches to obtain, and backgrounds to prepare and output.
Southbank Centre – Unlimited Festival, Being a Man Festival, Women of the World Festival, Changing Britain Festival
Soho Literary Festival – Soho Theatre
Liberty Festival – Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
The Musical Brain – various venues
Contact us.
mrsclairehill@gmail.com
07973 817 872
23 Kenilworth Road,
London SE20 7QG