Profile On: Solar Bear
Glasgow-based theatre company producing work for both deaf and hearing audiences
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Solar Bear, a company who create exciting, innovative theatre with a strong social commitment, are about to establish Scotland's first Deaf Youth Theatre. |
Founded in February 2002 by artistic directors Deborah Andrews and Gerry Ramage, the company has gone from strength to strength. They have successfully delivered a wide range of education and training programmes on a national scale, as well as hosting in-house apprenticeships. At the same time they have managed to produce pioneering, award-winning, main-stage productions such as Seeing Voices, which received critical acclaim from both deaf and hearing audiences in 2004.
Sticking to their original values of inclusion, integration and access, while producing innovative work, Solar Bear translated Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream into British Sign Language (BSL), and performed extracts of the play at The Citizens’ Theatre in Glasgow in 2006.
Solar Bear UNITED
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Although producing theatre for both deaf and hearing audiences may set Solar Bear apart from other theatre companies, Solar Bear UNITED - the young people’s wing - is also the only theatre company of its type in Scotland. It is a professional theatre company that works specifically for and with young people, creating workshops and plays that relate to young people’s experiences and interests. Solar Bear UNITED is currently getting ready to go into rehearsal for Broken, a new physical theatre piece, which will be performed at Tramway in Glasgow in June. |
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'Broken examines how we communicate...and how we don't'
Gerry Ramage, Solar Bear Director |
Broken
Broken, originally created by founder and artistic director of Solar Bear, Deborah Andrews, and since developed and adapted by Solar Bear UNITED and Ronnie Simon, was inspired by issues pertinent to young people that both Deborah and artistic director of Solar Bear UNITED, Gerry Ramage, have seen come up time and time again while delivering workshops across Scotland.
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Broken centres on the lives of a group of young people who regularly visit a local park. Secrets kept buried for years are unearthed, with tragic consequences. Based around four main characters, we watch as they deal with emotionally brutal topics handled with a gentle dignity and respect. Audience members who saw the pilot of Broken in 2005 were very impressed with how the British Sign Language gave the words a really physical feel. |
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Deborah Andrews says, 'As with our previous success with Seeing Voices, we were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response the audience had to the new aesthetic we've been developing. We were very excited with the suggestion that technically we were creating a new form of theatre. In Seeing Voices, two actors portrayed the same character, one signed (BSL) as the other spoke. We’ve since investigated a variety of ways that signing and spoken English can coexist on stage to create a more inclusive form of theatre. That’s what we set out to do – create really innovative theatre that is accessible to everyone, and part of our plan was to increase access by establishing the first Deaf Youth Theatre in Scotland.' |
With Broken about to go into production, and ongoing apprenticeships, training and outreach programmes, Solar Bear enters a new phase as it steps up to a new challenge. As the audiences get bigger, the workload increases and Solar Bear continues to develop and expand, what else could Solar Bear possibly wish for… a bigger office! Solar Bear, having outgrown their original office in just five years, are moving to new premises at the Arches in Glasgow. Quite literally, a theatre company on the move!
Visit the Solar Bear website for more. |