A NEW production by celebrated Scottish playwright Douglas Maxwell will be premiered online next month by the final-year students of Scotland’s ground-breaking BA Performance in British Sign Language and English programme.

The Assumption, a Gothic thriller, will be performed in British Sign Language (BSL), English and captioned throughout.

The Royal Conservatoire’s course is the only one of its kind in Europe and it was hoped The Assumption could be staged at Glasgow’s Tramway as one of the first live theatre productions with a live audience since the March lockdown.

Due to the ongoing restrictions this can no longer happen, but the performance will be staged behind closed doors and presented online instead from December 11 in association with Solar Bear.

Jonathan Lloyd, creative director of Solar Bear, said the original play and ideas for its production had been turned “upside down” over the past six months.

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“It has been challenging, strange and inspiring to see it reconstructed and re-imagined,” said Lloyd.

“I am immensely proud of our team’s resilience and creativity and we hope that by gathering in a (large!) room at the Tramway with others, by sharing stories again, we can create a much-needed communal experience.”

Maxwell wrote the first draft of the play before Covid-19 hit, which meant it had to be re-imagined several times to keep up with the ever-changing restrictions – going from a full cast on stage and a Scottish tour to restricted numbers of people and social distancing in the rehearsal room and on stage, wearing masks and a reduced, socially distanced audience in a large space.

The constant changes meant Maxwell ended up with three versions of the play.

However, going online means it will potentially have a wider audience.

Claire Lamont, head of the BA Performance in British Sign Language and English programme at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) said it was “exciting” to be able to premiere The Assumption. She said it was a “thrilling piece” that demonstrated the creativity of staging work across both British Sign Language and English.

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“The BA Performance in British Sign Language and English programme at RCS is the only course of its kind in Europe and teaches students to be both actors and makers of work,” she said. “Our students are some of the industry’s most exciting emerging artists, who bring a dynamic new energy and diversity to the stage.”

The YouTube link for the premiere will be announced by RCS and Solar Bear on social media from December 9. The production will be available to view until February 11, 2021.

The Royal Conservatoire programme has been developed in association with Solar Bear with input from a range of theatre, education and deaf professionals.

For more information visit rcs.ac.uk/courses/ba-performance.