Last Sunday, I went with my son to see “Paddington the musical” at the Savoy theatre in town. We went with the Jewish Deaf Association (JDA) as part of their D Club where they host different kinds of activities for the kids whether it’s cupcake decorating, trampolining, art workshops, or going to the theatre, and other things too that I’m sure I’ve missed off the list. They get very good deals on the theatre due to everyone having some level of hearing loss, that we got seats for £10 for each child and the carer goes free.
It was an amazing experience. I was a bit worried at first as we we’re in the dress circle and wondering why we were all placed there, I then saw a couple of screens in front of me with subtitles which got me excited as I’ve never had this experience before at the theatre. Also, as well as being able to catch up on missed speech during the show, there were lots of speakers around where we were sitting and the sound quality was really good which also made a big difference. So even though I was higher up than I originally thought we would be, it worked out well due to all these adaptations for people with hearing loss like me, and also those with cochlear implants.
I loved the show – I would totally recommend it for kids but also for adults too. It had some lovely messaging, and Paddington was so adorable. It was great to see how some of the characters changed their tune and fell in love with the bear. It did get me feeling quite emotional by the end as the show was very heart-warming and exactly what I needed to hear that day. It was a big rush to get to the theatre but it was totally worth it once I got there.
Plus at the end – a bonus – we got to meet Paddington after the show – including the guy who did the voice of Paddington and the little lady dwarf who dressed as Paddington. She was lovely to chat to – it was funny because my 9 year old son was confused as to why she could just leave on her own to walk the streets of London as she was smaller than him!
This theatre trip has also prompted me to look into getting an Access card as I could get some benefits and experience something similar again when going to the theatre. It’s good not to miss out on so much – and makes such a difference when I can easily hear what people are saying, something I never take for granted. For further information on captioned performances, you can visit Stagetext but it was also really handy to receive an Access performance guide in the post a few days after I saw Paddington – sent to me by the JDA – but which I have since also seen published online on the Official London Theatre’s website that you can download to view the upcoming performances that have special access arrangements for people with hearing loss like me. It would be lovely to have this experience again at the theatre which put me at ease and helped me to enjoy the show much more.