Q&A with DJ Kurs, artistic director of Deaf West Theatre

What can you tell us about the work of Deaf West? Deaf West Theatre, renowned for its innovative and boundary-pushing productions, has been a force in integrating Deaf culture and American Sign Language (ASL) with the performing arts. Our work transcends the conventional limitations of theatre to create fully accessible performances that equally engage Deaf and hearing audiences. What would you like hearing opera audiences to know about the Deaf world? For hearing opera audiences, it’s important to understand that the Deaf world is rich with its own culture, language, and artistic expressions. Deaf individuals experience music and performances in profoundly different but equally meaningful ways, through visual and tactile sensations, and through the nuanced, expressive power of ASL. Recognising and appreciating these differences can broaden one’s perspective on music,…