Centred on the idea of contemporary circus as a highly visual and often non-verbal art form that has huge potential to engage and resonate with Deaf audiences, in 2023 Circus City launched VISUAL Feats – a new project to explore what a Deaf Friendly festival might look like.
Over the next 2 years we gathered feedback from audiences, met with and consulted with members of the Deaf community, upskilled our core team in training in Deaf culture and BSL and spoke with colleagues to explore new ways of working.
Throughout this period we worked to prioritise Deaf inclusion in our programming from embedded BSL and creative captioning to BSL programmes and marketing. However, the research identified a desire from d/Deaf audiences to see more Deaf led circus on stage which posed the question – what role could Circus City play to make this happen. In response we launched VISUAL Feats – a new project to identify the barriers, needs and possibilities of Deaf-led circus.
Launched in 2025 VISUAL Feats aims to work alongside Deaf and hearing artists to explore what a Deaf friendly circus sector could look like – what we might need to do to make this happen, and how we might support it to thrive?
We will be:
- looking at the influence on the sector from key moments in circus history including the 2012 Paralympic Games and the support this created for Deaf led circus.
- inviting Deaf creatives to be part of our festival and attend a range of shows to better understand the potential impact of Deaf perspectives in the experiences of audiences and wider creative teams.
- hosting a VISUAL Feats Lab which will bring together d/Deaf and hearing artists working in contemporary circus and performing arts to explore the possibilities of developing more Deaf led artists and a more Deaf friendly circus sector.
We are grateful to the support of Postcode Local Trust and Arts Council England as well as Alan McLean at Deaf Explorer who made this project possible.
Photography Credit: Delusional by Diane Salles photographed by Anna Barclay