Combining Surtitles and Captioning for Deaf and Hearing Audiences in Multilingual Theatre

What combining surtitles and captioning means

In multilingual theatre, surtitles and captions are often treated as separate access services. Combining them means designing a coherent visual-text layer that does two related jobs: it translates spoken or sung material between languages for hearing audiences, and it makes dialogue, speakers and relevant sound information available to Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. The functions overlap, but they are not identical. Surtitles are primarily interlingual translation; captions are primarily access. A production can use one display for both purposes, or separate tracks that share placement, timing and design logic.

Surtitles are projected or otherwise displayed translations of spoken or sung text, usually from one language into another. In opera, surtitling developed as a service to help audiences follow texts in another language, and its textual, ideological and technical dimensions have been analysed in theatre and opera research. Theatre captioning, by contrast, renders dialogue and relevant sound information as text so that Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences can follow a performance; it can be intralingual or interlingual. The Routledge survey of surtitling and captioning describes captioning as a way for productions to reach different types of audiences, while noting that surtitling and captioning have different histories and conventions.

The practical question is therefore not simply ‘Should we have surtitles or captions?’ It is ‘Which audiences need which information, in which language, at which moment, and how can the production display that information without dividing attention or compromising the stage picture?’

Surtitles, captions and sign interpretation are different tools

Why multilingual theatre needs both functions

Multilingual productions rarely have one audience. A play may be performed in two or three spoken languages, with surtitles translating into a festival lingua franca. The audience may include people who understand the source languages, people who understand only the target language, and bilingual spectators who move between both. Griesel’s distinction between source-language, target-language and dual-knowledge audiences is useful here: it shows that a single surtitle track cannot be designed as if all spectators need the same translation.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences add another layer. Some Deaf spectators use a national sign language as their first or preferred language; others are oral, lip-read, use hearing aids or cochlear implants, or identify as hard of hearing. Written captions may be the most practical access mode at every performance, but the language of those captions matters. A caption in the majority spoken language may not be equally accessible to Deaf signers, especially where written language is a second language. Sign interpretation and captioning are therefore complementary, not interchangeable.

Documented projects show the value of combining functions. At the University of Hildesheim, researchers worked with theatres and artists on inclusive productions for hearing, hard-of-hearing and Deaf audiences, developing a multilingual concept in which creative use of surtitles played a central role. The article reporting the project describes a January 2018 premiere at the Junges Schauspiel Hannover: Evan Placey’s Girls like that, in German as Mädchen wie die, translated by Frank Weigand and directed by Wera Mahne. The project also included an audience survey after an earlier project, indicating that reception research was part of the work rather than an afterthought.

In the UK, Red Earth Theatre and an interdisciplinary team at the University of Nottingham collaborated on a project whose aim was the creative integration of captioning into the aesthetic experience of performance. Red Earth is described as a small-scale touring company with a commitment to inclusive integrated communication for young audiences, particularly Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. Research for its 2017 Deaf like me report found that many interviewees disliked the common model in which a BSL interpreter at the side of the stage, usually for one scheduled performance, was the only access provision. Theatre captions were seen as important because they can support accessibility across all performances of a production, as the Nottingham repository account explains.

Design principles for a combined system

Decide the linguistic architecture first

Before commissioning translation or booking captioning, map the languages of the production. Which languages are spoken, sung, signed or projected? Which languages does the intended audience read? Will surtitles translate every language into one target language, or will there be multiple language tracks? Will captions use the same text as the surtitles, or a simplified, expanded or differently timed version? These decisions affect script translation, rehearsal, projection design and budget.

A useful starting point is to define separate but coordinated tracks: an interlingual surtitle track for hearing spectators who need translation; an access caption track for Deaf and hard-of-hearing spectators, including speaker labels and relevant sound information; and, where appropriate, sign-language interpretation. The tracks can share a display surface, but they should not be assumed to be identical. A hearing spectator may need a literary translation of a joke; a Deaf spectator may need to know who is speaking, when music changes the mood, or when an offstage sound motivates a character’s reaction.

Treat the display as scenography

Because captions and surtitles compete with the stage for attention, their placement is a design problem, not a technical afterthought. They need clear sightlines, sufficient contrast, readable type and timing that allows the eye to return to the action. Creative integration can make access feel part of the production, as the Nottingham and Red Earth project sought to do, but integration should not come at the cost of legibility. Test the display in the actual venue, from different seats and with different audience groups, including Deaf and hard-of-hearing spectators.

Coordinate translation and captioning dramaturgy

Surtitling and captioning both involve editing. Spoken dialogue may be condensed for reading speed; overlapping speech may need speaker labels; songs may require a different line-breaking logic from prose. Mateo’s textual, ideological and technical perspectives on surtitling are a reminder that these are not neutral transcriptions: word choices carry values, and technical constraints shape what can be shown. A production should agree a glossary, pronunciation guide and cue structure, and should keep translation and captioning in the same room where possible.

Rehearse with the text visible

Cues cannot be finalised from the script alone. Actors pause, overlap, improvise and change tempo. Schedule run-throughs with the projection or caption system live, and give the operator or cue-caller authority to adjust. If the production is touring, check that the display system, file formats and sightlines can be adapted to each venue. If it will be streamed or recorded, plan captions for the screen version as a separate deliverable; research on the pandemic shift from stage to online video found that accessibility was often under-exploited when productions moved online, as discussed in Mével, Robinson and Tennent’s study.

Budget access as production, not marketing

Translation, captioning, projection equipment, operator time, audience consultation and previews all cost money. Translation and captioning files are production assets that need version control. Where a script is translated for surtitling or captioning, permissions may be required from the rights holder; the exact requirement depends on the contract and jurisdiction, so it should be checked rather than assumed. Funders and co-producers should see access as part of the production budget, not as a separate charitable add-on.

Working with audiences and access

Combining surtitles and captions well requires more than technical fixes. It requires knowing which audiences are in the room and who is not. Deaf audiences are not a single group, and neither are multilingual audiences. A festival audience may contain tourists, diaspora communities, students of the language, Deaf signers and hard-of-hearing regulars. Consultation should include people who actually use captions and surtitles, not only hearing producers and translators.

The Deaf like me findings are a caution against token access: one BSL-interpreted performance may be valuable, but it does not make a run accessible. Captions can be offered at every performance, while interpretation can be scheduled for selected dates and promoted clearly. The two modes can also work together: a Deaf spectator may choose captions for one scene and watch the interpreter for another, depending on the production’s visual language and the spectator’s preference.

Practical checklist

1. Define the access aim in writing. State which audiences the production intends to serve and which languages they read.
2. Map languages and tracks. Decide whether surtitles, captions and sign interpretation will be separate, shared or hybrid.
3. Commission translation and captioning together. Share script, glossary, rehearsal notes and pronunciation guidance.
4. Design and test the display. Check sightlines, contrast, reading speed and placement in the venue.
5. Rehearse cues. Run the system live in technical rehearsals and previews; assign responsibility for changes.
6. Consult users. Seek feedback from Deaf, hard-of-hearing and multilingual spectators before opening.
7. Document for touring and streaming. Keep caption and surtitle files, cue sheets and access information ready for adaptation.

Common pitfalls

• Treating captions as translated surtitles. A translation track may not include speaker labels or sound information; an access track may not serve hearing spectators who need translation.
• Planning access after the set is built. Projection surfaces, sightlines and lighting are hard to change late.
• Assuming one Deaf audience. Language preferences, literacy and access needs vary.
• Overloading the display. Too much text at once divides attention and reduces access.
• Offering one interpreted performance as the whole access plan. Captions can support all performances; interpretation should be clearly scheduled and complemented by text access.

Conclusion

Combining surtitles and captioning is most successful when it is understood as dramaturgy. The production decides what each audience needs to know, how that information should be phrased and timed, and where it should sit in the visual field. The result is not a stage with two unrelated text streams, but a multilingual and accessible performance in which translation and access are designed together.