Grateful thanks to the Dean’s Christmas Sit Out for the very generous donation in 2023 which enabled us to develop and deliver a training programme for audio describers. The programme resulted in four new describers who are now describing live theatre and who proved essential during the pantomime and Christmas show season which we have just experienced. Two of the describers are based in Derry, so for the first time ever the Millennium Forum was able to make its pantomime accessible to blind people. Jacqueline and Emma, our newly trained describers did a brilliant job and so did Oonagh and Noirin the new Belfast based describers.
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Thanks to continuing support from St. Anne’s Cathedral Dean’s Sitout, an online training programme in audio description skills will take place at the beginning of March ‘23. There will be four or five on-line sessions, the timing of which will be arranged to suit the successful applicants. The cost of this pilot scheme is £50 per person with a discount for students. In order to be selected you will be asked to submit a description of a street scene. The image will be emailed to you along with further details, on application to [email protected]
 Tuesday 30th August 2022 saw a lot of activity at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. N.I. Sightlines, thanks to a generous donation from the Deans Sit Out (Black Santa) invited a group of blind and visually impaired people to attend the Lyric to familiarise themselves with the new audio description technology. After a sandwich lunch everyone moved to the auditorium where Julie McKegney, head of Customer Services at the Lyric, together with a host of helpers, talked people through the new system which involves patrons bringing their own phone or tablet and their own headphones and connecting these to the internet via a QR code. The system is far more reliable than the old one and ultimately will be much easier to operate as it entails people using their own equipment with which they are already familiar. It poses a few problems, however, and luckily the old system will still be in place for anyone who struggles with new technology. The verdict is that the struggle is worth it in the end and the hospitality of the Lyric and the chance to meet like-minded people was enjoyed by all.
If you’re blind or visually impaired and love to be entertained, come along and learn about the Lyric’s new technology for live audio description of its theatre performances.
It’s more accessible. It’s more reliable. It’s right for you. When: Tuesday 30th August at 12.noon Where: The Lyric Theatre, Belfast There will be time to chat after you learn and lunch will be provided. Do come. If you’re new to the Lyric and audio description you will be especially welcome Please book your place now and by 19th August at the very latest, by emailing [email protected] Bring a friend and or a guide dog if you like, but let us know who’s coming with you and also let us know of any dietary requirements. This event is organised by the Lyric Theatre and Sightlines N.I. Grateful thanks go to St. Anne’s Cathedral Dean’s Sitout for the kind donation which has now, after an extended period of lockdown, enabled us keep our website up to date and to buy the necessary equipment to ensure we can add an audio described track to videos produced by arts organisations. We have already done some work in this field, but with our own hardware and software we’ll be able to carry out much more. Thank you, Black Santa.
Take a trip back to 1959 and Rydell High, when summer nights were never ending, and the Pink Ladies really did rule the school. Join Danny, Sandy, Rizzo, Kenickie, and the rest of the gang as they navigate the highs and lows of teenage life, accompanied by some of the most recognizable songs of all time, including Summer Nights, Greased Lightning, Hopelessly in Love with You, and You’re the One That I Want.
So slick back your quaff; put another dime in the juke box and get ready for an unforgettable night of rock and roll. The Musical Grease begins at the Grand Opera House on Tuesday 26th October, and runs until Saturday 30th October. Tuesday- Saturday at 7.30. Matinees on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 2.30. Audio Description 7.30 on Friday, come 15 minutes early if you want to hear the programme notes, and to test your headset. Live theatre is back at last, and with it comes our live audio description. We’ve missed being part of the performances and we’ve missed helping to make them accessible to more people. We hope you’ll be able to attend many of the shows. The Lyric has only scheduled two so far, but we’re sure more will be on the way. The Grand Opera House has programmed well into 2022 so if you want to be sure of a seat in the refurbished auditorium, book now. By so doing you will support live theatre and live audio description.
We look forward to meeting you at the performances. Many thanks go once again to the Black Santa appeal of St. Anne’s Cathedral. Their generous support over the years has enabled us to maintain this website, keeping it up to date. This year we plan to spend the donation of equipment and training to enable us to audio describe community films. We once again thank St Anne’s Cathedral Sitout (Black Santa Appeal) most sincerely for the kind donation of a grant which enabled us to maintain our website. The extra money we received will go towards a training programme for audio-describers at the Millennium Forum in Derry for which we are continuing to fund-raise.
The latest kind donation from St. Anne’s Cathedral Sit-Out goes toward maintaining N.I. Sightlines’ website. It is really important to keep this website up to date, as it lists all the performances that are to be described in each coming season. This gives blind and visually impaired people the opportunity to go to one site and choose the shows they wish to attend. Furthermore it is also the place from which they can download the introductory notes which describe the set and scenery, the actors, characters and costumes. They can then listen to these notes at their leisure, being given the background of the show in advance and thus being enabled to participate fully as audience members. The website is updated every 2 or 3 weeks, sometimes more frequently, as introductory notes to each new show are uploaded.
Thanks to a generous donation from St. Anne’s Cathedral Sit-out, N. I. Sightlines was enabled to travel to Dublin’s Abbey Theatre with a group of 6 blind and visually impaired people, to experience an audio-description of ‘Ulysses’. The play, whilst not being the easiest to understand, was full of interest, with song, puppets and audience participation in the bar scenes. The audio-description was excellent and everyone appreciated the opportunity to listen to a different voice. After the show we all enjoyed a meal together before returning to Belfast.
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