What is Creative Audio Description? 

Creative audio description is a step on from traditional audio description. A combination of first-person narration and additional soundscape is used to create a more accessible experience for visually impaired audience members. 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream will offer creative audio description through: 

• Pre-show introduction notes, recorded in character by the cast. 

• Touch tours, which will also be led by members of the cast. 

• Headsets which will feed live audio description and additional soundscape.  

• There will also be slight changes to the text made, so that it makes sense for blind story telling. 

This will make for a more enjoyable and immersive theatre experience. 

Our audio description Director Benjamin Wilson explains how creative audio description will be used in performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the video below. 

There will be a sound-proof booth sited backstage. During the performance, when a cast member is not on stage, they will perform the voice over in their character.  

Shakespeare is naturally great at creating audio description. No one ever enters a stage without another character saying, ‘Look! This person has entered!’ No one ever draws a sword without saying ‘I'm drawing my sword’. Shakespeare has done a lot of the work for us, and we’ve added aural texture and detail to help fill in any gaps ‒ those lines that tell us who’s in the room, or who drank a potion. 

There will also be sounds that you associate with fairies, the lovers, and the mechanicals. Sharing with a blind audience where we are, who's there and what the mood of the scene is through sound design and music. 

Can I access Creative Audio Description? 

Creative audio description has been developed primarily for blind and visually impaired audiences. However, all audience members can access and benefit from this experience.  

There will be headsets available for each performance. These can be reserved as part of the booking process, subject to availability. 

How can I book? 

To book creative audio described performances and touch tours of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Barbican, visit the Barbican website. Headsets and touch tours can be reserved during the booking process as a free add on when proceeding through to check out. 

The touch tour dates for A Midsummer Night's Dream are:

• Sat 21 Dec (11.30am-12 midday)
• Sat 28 Dec (11.30am-12midday)
• Sat 4 Jan (11.30am-12 midday)
• Sat 11 Jan (11.30am-12 midday)
• Fri 17 Jan (5.15pm-5.45pm)