The Barn Theatre have announced today that they will be releasing British Sign Language versions of their weekly live streamed children’s show, Tweedy’s Lost & Found.
In keeping with the theatre’s ethos of producing “Theatre For All”, the theatre has worked in collaboration the Gloucestershire Deaf Association (GDA) to produce BSL versions of past and future episodes of the children’s series for the D/deaf community with interpreter Paul Mancini appearing on the episodes.
The first episode can be watched on YouTube here:
The children’s entertainment series, which airs on the Barn Theatre’s social media channels on Wednesdays at 12pm, follows Tweedy as he adapts to his new job at the local Lost & Found. In each episode Tweedy tries to help his special guest find an item they have lost, as well as touching on important messages surrounding the coronavirus and lockdown in a child-friendly way.
Tweedy, real name Alan Digweed (47), started his career in his homeland of Scotland, where he grew up in Dyce, Aberdeen and attended youth theatre at Haddo House Hall, which is also where he made his professional debut in their pantomime, before rising to notoriety through his work with Giffords Circus.
The series has also included appearances from the likes of Helena Bonham Carter, Daisy May Cooper, Reece Shearsmith, Hugh Bonneville and Jacqueline Jossa with this week’s guest star being DIY SOS star Nick Knowles.
Tweedy’s Lost & Found launched on 25th March 2020 as part of their free live-streaming service Behind The Barn Door. New episodes air live on the Barn Theatre’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter channels every Wednesday at 12pm.
The children’s show marks the first collaboration between Tweedy the Clown and the Barn Theatre.
Since launching in 2018, the Barn Theatre has gained national recognition by producing 12 Built By Barn shows to upwards of 80,000 audience members and being awarded The Stage Awards’ Best Fringe Theatre of the Year Award 2019. Their contribution to the local community stretches further than just the theatre with large scale outreach programmes, school workshops and collaborative projects around the centenary of the First World War, the ‘record-breaking’ Cirencester Human Poppy, and The Cirencester Advent Festival that have enhanced the well-being of the community and draw thousands of visitors to the town.
The theatre has also worked extensively with disadvantaged communities working with charities including Cirencester Housing for Young People (CHYP) and Age UK Gloucestershire.
The Barn Theatre are continually expanding their slate of programmes and the full line up and updates can be found on their website and social media platforms.
The Barn Theatre (registered charity no. 1174253), which is facing a loss of £250,000 and possible permanent closure, have launched their SAVE OUR BARN via their website and social media platforms. The theatre have also released a Not Just A Theatre video campaign to highlight the initiatives that the theatre works on, alongside their theatrical productions, for the local communities.