How discovering deaf culture can be an enriching experience
There's also immense creative talent in the deaf community, something that's all too often squandered through lack of opportunity. Too many highly skilled deaf people are still being overlooked.
In the arts world, there are signs of change. Last year Shakespeare's Globe in London staged a production of Antony and Cleopatra in which the Romans spoke English and the Egyptians performed in BSL. I was cast as Cleopatra and was impressed by the commitment of the theatre and the response of the audience.
The use of BSL and English-speaking actors was a positive – powerfully emphasising Roman incomprehension of another culture.
We need to get away from the situation where deaf people are limited by other people's perceptions of what we can or can't do.
Deaf creatives and creativity should be woven into the fabric of the arts.
That's exactly what events like the Edinburgh Deaf Festival are helping to do. It provides platforms for deaf drama, comedy, drag, film, music, poetry and discussion. This caters for the deaf community and welcomes hearing audiences as well.
It's about deaf people having agency; taking control of our narrative and expressing it how we want to. It's about ownership, pride, and representation from within the deaf community.
The festival is also working with the [[Edinburgh]] Fringe, the International Festival, the Book Festival, [[Edinburgh]] Art Festival and specific venues like Summerhall, both to stage deaf-led events and to make their programmes more accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
It's a relief to write about the things we are doing. Last year, the future of the festival was at risk. Despite the festival's development, growth and success it faced a severe funding crisis.
A vigorous campaign was mounted to point out that the loss of the [[Edinburgh]] Deaf Festival would be completely at odds with the Scottish Government's commitment to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn.
We now have a three-year funding deal with Creative Scotland that's allowing us to be more bold and ambitious for the future.
It's something that Scotland should be proud of. Edinburgh, and the whole country, have played a vital role in the emergence of deaf culture and the establishment of deaf rights.
This is exemplified by the fact that festival organisers, the Edinburgh-based Deaf Action, is the oldest deaf-led charity in the world and this year celebrates 190 years of campaigning for our community.
The festival is a powerful way to improve the lives of deaf people and celebrate deaf culture, giving hearing people greater access to our world.
• The festival is from August 8-17.
Nadia Nadarajah is the Creative Programmer of the 2025 Edinburgh Deaf Festival
Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk
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