The Wife of Willesden - ASL Interpreted Performances

A proper local legend, Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the local West London pub—there’s no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman’s got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables. And her love life? It’s an epic poem. They call her the Wife of Willesden. Join her for an evening that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives. Winner of the 2022 Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright, critically acclaimed and multi award-winning best-selling author Zadie Smith transforms an excerpt from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales into the unbelievable—and unforgettable.

Adapted by Zadie Smith from Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath

Directed by Indhu Rubasingham

A Kiln Theatre Production

What Is ASL Interpretation?

American Sign Language (ASL) is a visual language. With signing, the brain processes linguistic information through the eyes. The shape, placement, and movement of the hands, as well as facial expressions and body movements, all play important parts in conveying information.

Sign language is not a universal language – each country has its own sign language, and regions have dialects, much like the many languages spoken all over the world. Like any spoken language, ASL is a language with its own unique rules of grammar and syntax. Like all languages, ASL is a living language that grows and changes over time.

For ASL-interpreted performances, the ART collaborates with a Deaf ASL Coach, who translates the play into ASL. The Coach works with a team of certified ASL interpreters to develop and rehearse the ASL interpretation, which is performed live, either on or in close proximity to the stage.

Learn more at the National Association of the Deaf website