AUSLAN interpreter for beloved children’s story

AUSLAN interpreter for beloved children’s story

Cultural services in the region are being made more accessible with the inclusion of an Auslan interpreter for Deaf and Hard of Hearing members of the community during next month’s production of Guess How Much I Love You in a first for the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre (DRTCC).

Presented by CDP Kids, the production is a stage adaptation by Richard Tulloch of Sam McBratney’s beloved children’s book of the same name. It will show at the DRTCC on Tuesday 8 March 2022 at 12pm and 6pm, and on Wednesday 9 March 2022 at 10:30am.

The Tuesday performances will feature an Auslan interpreter, provided by Auslan Stage Left after Dubbo Regional Council’s (DRC) Cultural Development Team secured funding.

“We are excited to provide Auslan interpretation for the Tuesday performances, with thanks to DRC’s Cultural Development Team,” said DRTCC Manager Linda Christof. “This will be a first for the theatre and something that we want to continue to be able to do for selected shows, to ensure as many people as possible can experience the joy of live theatre on stage.”

DRC Cultural Management Coordinator Jess Moore said the securing of the funding for the service was part of the ‘Shaping Plans to Advance Regional Culture’ (SPARC) Cultural Plan to improve access to cultural experiences for the whole community.

“It’s very exciting to be able to bring this service to Dubbo and we are keen to do more in the future and provide interpretation services to more cultural experiences across the region,” said Ms Moore. “We’re focused on coming up with new engagement opportunities to ensure as many people in our community feel reflected and included in the cultural life of the city. We hope the community will give us more feedback on other ways we can support diverse engagement strategies moving forward.”

Children and families will enjoy the stage adaptation which involves beautiful puppetry, music and laughter to tell the story of an enchanting adventure of Little and Big Nutbrown Hare.

“One of our curtain raiser sponsors, Brad Petrie from Petrie’s Mitre 10 said he reads this story to his son every night so it plays a special part of his family routine,” Ms Christof said. “He jumped at the opportunity to support this show and see the magic of the story played out on stage.”

Tickets can be purchased from the DRTCC Box Office by calling (02) 6801 4378 or online at: https://drtcc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/sales

Source: DRC