Circa Theatre Reaches Blind Audiences with ALL MY SONS, July 1

Circa Theatre will offer an audio described performance of the Arthur Miller classic, All My Sons, for blind and visually impaired audience members. This will be the second time the theatre undertakes a performance of this type: Circa's first audio described performance, of Roger Hall's Four Flat Whites in Italy, took place in October 2011.

"We believe that it is important for theatre to be accessible to all people, and audio description is a fantastic way of making our productions as inclusive as possible," said Ray Henwood, Circa Council Co-ordinator. "Arthur Miller's All My Sons is a classic piece of theatre and yet so relevant to today's global environment, so we are very pleased to be able to offer this special performance."

Audio description is a commentary throughout the performance for blind and visually impaired patrons about what is happening on stage in between the dialogue. Audience members wear a headset, through which they hear the audio describer's observations. A touch tour is offered before the show to give blind and visually impaired patrons the chance to "see" the set.

"Having enjoyed Four Flat Whites in Italy last year, Association of the Blind members in the Wellington region welcome the opportunity to attend another play with audio description put on by Circa Theatre," said Ann Bain, Chair of the Wellington Branch of the Association of Blind Citizens. "Audio description enables blind and vision impaired people to fully appreciate performances, as we are made aware of visual aspects which otherwise we would miss."

The audio described performance of All My Sons will take place on Sunday, 1 July at 4pm, with touch tours commencing at 3.15pm. This performance will be open to the general public, and the audio description will have no impact on those not wearing headsets.

To book a ticket and reserve a headset, please call the Circa Box Office at 801-7992. Bookings: phone 04 801 7992, email circa@circa.co.nz or visit www.circa.co.nz. Circa Theatre is located at 1 Taranaki St, Wellington Waterfront.