Deafinitely Theatre's Paula Garfield: 'Directors need to take more risks with disabled performers'

Paula Garfield founded Deafinitely Theatre 15 years ago, and since then the group has produced shows at the Globe, in the West End and at other venues across the UK. In October 2015 the company presented George Brand's Grounded at the Park Theatre, which reviewer Alun Hood described as 'undeniably thought provoking and rewarding'.

To celebrate their anniversary, the company are presenting a newly revised, site-specific performance of Mike Bartlett's play Contractions, adapted to be accessible to both BSL users and non-BSL users.

We sat down with Garfield to explore the trends around deaf and disabled performance in the UK, as well as the challenges posed by staging Contractions, and why it was the perfect text for the company.

Contractions runs at the New Diorama Theatre from 8 to 29 November, with previews from 1 November.