Signed Shakespeare Resources
Below are links to videos from all over the web featuring Shakespeare performances, discussions and lectures in sign languages.
BSL Zone - Shakespeare: Found in Translation. Documentary following Deafinitely Theatre as they translate a Shakespeare play for a Deaf audience.
In BSL with closed captions.
In spoken English, closed captions, BSL interpreted.
Discover how the University of Birmingham and the RSC are transforming the way young D/deaf students engage with Shakespeare. This powerful project brings Macbeth to life through BSL and creative, accessible teaching.
In English, some BSL, open captions.
Rose Ayling-Ellis takes us on a personal journey into the deaf experience and asks whether attitudes are finally changing.
In BSL, English, open captions
A short film featuring the ‘balcony scene’ from Romeo and Juliet. Juliet is hearing, Romeo is Deaf.
Directed by Valerie Doulton. With Lee O'Brien as Romeo and Lucy Casson as Juliet.
Voiceover: Charles Aitken
Voice of Nurse: Colette Zacca
Gallaudet University lecture - Lindsey Snyder - Speak my hands for me: Shakespeare, American Sign Language, and rhetorical gesture.
ASL only.
In BSL only.
The actor Jamal Ajala, a member of the Graeae Theatre Ensemble, performs Hamlet's To be, or not to be in British Sign Language, as part of the British Library's 2016 Shakespeare's Birthday Celebrations.
In ASL, open captions.
Sonnets 18 and 19 by William Shakespeare translated into American Sign Language by Crom Saunders
In ASL only.
This video was taken at a Deaf community's event. Elizabeth Morris is a Deaf actor. She was signing Juliet's lines in ASL (American Sign Language) from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".
Shakespeare’s Globe
William Grint, 'The Deaf Bard', joins students in performing the famous dagger speech from Shakespeare's Macbeth in British Sign Language.
National Theatre at Home - theatre for everyone. Any time, anywhere. Many of Shakespeare’s plays, all with English captions, and some are available with BSL interpretation.
In ASL, open captions, English voice-over.
Discover how Gallaudet University brings Shakespeare to life through ASL. This inspiring video explores Deaf-centered teaching, creative translation, and the power of visual storytelling. See how students reimagine A Midsummer Night’s Dream and connect with Shakespeare in a whole new way.
In ASL only.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed in ASL. Full play - 2.5 hours
In ASL, English, closed captions.
Prince Hamlet is a new adaptation of Shakespeare's famous play that puts sign language at the centre of the story. Actor Dawn Jani Birley plays Horatio, who narrates the entire tale in American Sign Language. While some actors have speaking roles, no one interprets the sign language for the audience.