Ashley Davies

Anyone familiar with the linguistic dexterity of Ivo Graham will know how densely packed his sentences are. Fans adore his comedy, but spare a thought for the British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters who work for him – particularly when he layers his live shows with PowerPoint displays. ‘His language is incredible, and there are no redundancies like “er” and “um” to give you thinking time,’ says Catherine King, who specialises in interpreting live arts performances, including Graham’s Edinburgh Fringe show, ‘Grand Design’. ‘That split focus with the screen was interesting: you can hear two things at once and your brain chooses which one to listen to, but you can’t see two things at once.’ Demand for BSL interpreting in live arts is growing, in part because more deaf children are going to mainstream schools and are therefore more exposed to their hearing cohorts’ experiences of gigs than previous generations were. Increasing – though not yet satisfactory – levels of inclusivity also mean arts organisations are working harder to get funding for these services. Between 10 and 20 percent of interpreters specialise in live arts, according to Marie Pascal, director of the Performance Interpreting agency. Theatre tends to have the greatest access and innovation – in August this year, the Globe staged a landmark bilingual take on ‘Antony & Cleopatra’, where the Romans spoke English and the Egyptians BSL, with surtitles throughout – while demand is growing for music, which is harder t