What’s available for deaf customers at Chichester theatres?

Chichester Festival Theatre and the adjacent Minerva Theatre have options for those with a hearing difficulty; such as StageText captioned performances on specific dates for all productions and infra-red audio enhancement, for which free headsets are available. 

Here is what the the theatres say about performances available for deaf and hard of hearing customers

• At BSL interpreted performances a British Sign Language interpreter stands on or at the side of the stage and interprets the spoken word and sound effects.
• Stagetext captioned performances provide English subtitles either on a screen above or to the side of the stage, or on a personal tablet in specific seats. The Box Office can make sure customers are booked into a seat that gives a good view of the captioning units so contact them on 01243 781312.
• The theatres record and caption many of our pre-show talks and make them available on YouTube.
• Both theatres are equipped with Infra-Red audio enhancement system and customers can pick up a headset at theatre cloakrooms before the show for free.
• Hearing aid user? Switch to the ‘T’ position once inside the auditorium to use the theatre induction loop system. Handy tip: this system works best when sat in the centre of the auditorium so chat to our Box Office (01243 781312 or box.office@cft.org.uk) when booking to ensure the option.
• There is a chat function available on the website and can answer questions via email if helpful at access@cft.org.uk

Please note: The theatres carry out regular checks on these systems but sometimes technology fails. Please speak to a member of staff as soon as possible if there is a problem.

The theatres offer Access membership.

Details about all accessibility services are available at www.cft.org.uk/accessibility

If you want to know more about the theatre performances, click on this link.