At the beginning of 2024 Self-Raising toured through 10 venues. These venues include:

6 – 17 February Soho Theatre, London
20 – 21 February Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
22 – 23 February, Liverpool Everyman
29 February – 1 March, Derby Theatre
4 – 5 March Live Theatre, Newcastle
7 – 9 March Mercury Theatre, Colchester
12 – 13 March Warwick Arts Centre 
14 March, Nottingham Playhouse
19 – 20 March Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol
22 – 23 March, Leeds Playhouse

In May, it was announced that Graeae had been granted capital funding from Arts Council England, the Bradbury Foundation, and the Foyle Foundation. This funding totalled £590,000 which would support a refresh of our Bradbury Studios building. This will allow Bradbury Studios to continue to be a cultural hub for Deaf, Disabled, and neurodivergent artists. Building works begin early January 2025.

From September-October Graeae in co-production with Shakespeare North Playhouse, and in association with Theatre by the Lake, presented a new telling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In true Graeae fashion, the story was not told as is, but was adapted to better suit our audiences, storytelling style, and to make it more accessible.

Over several months Jenny Sealey rewrote Shakespeare’s words, taking the story of Romeo and Juliet, and dropping it into the world of film auditions. The production utilised a kind of double casting process that allowed the actors to play with the idea of who could be a Juliet or a Romeo. This also enabled a mirroring technique between an actor using BSL and an actor speaking their lines, adding new dimensions to the classic story.

The production premiered in Prescot at Shakespeare North Playhouse before moving to Theatre by the Lake in Keswick.

Image credit to Becky Bailey.