In the King’s Birthday Honours announced this summer it was announced that Bridget Stevens from Edinburgh would receive a well deserved MBE.

As announced in The Gazette on 14 June 2025: 
THE KING has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the Celebration of His Majesty’s Birthday, to give orders for the following promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:

M.B.E.

To be Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:

Bridget Mary STEVENS

Pioneer, Audio Description, Edinburgh

For services to the Arts.

Bridget is a dedicated audio describer – one of the first to offer the specialist service for theatre productions in Scotland, starting her groundbreaking work some 30 years ago after it had been “invented” in the US.

Through this work she has helped to transform the experience of going to the theatre for many blind and visually impaired audience members which operates through wireless headsets. Bridget sits in a specially equipped booth in venues such as the Festival Theatre (where the booth is at the back of the Grand Circle with a direct view on to the stage) and provides a real time narration allowing those who cannot see what is happening on stage to imagine it from her description. She has to see the production before being confident to offer the service, and it takes an amount of preparation and knowledge of the play, often seeing it four or five times.

And the service is not without its challenges. During one early performance, a piece of furniture unexpectedly fell over. “The blind people could hear that, but they didn’t know if it was a gunshot,” she recalled, demonstrating the quick thinking required. She had to interrupt and explain that the wardrobe had just unexpectedly fallen over.

With around 15 active audio describers in Edinburgh, the service has evolved from “clunky headsets” to modern wireless technology. Theatres like the King’s provide audio description for every production, thanks to committed volunteers including Bridget who understand its vital importance.

Bridget trained by watching videos of excerpts from shows with her eyes closed before going to watch plays in the theatre.

She said: “The first thing we were invited to do was visualise what it would be like sitting in a theatre audience, unable to see but able to hear the actor’s voices. So that was quite an experience. Then we went back with our eyes open looking again at the excerpt and deciding what to say and when. We fine tuned that process until we arrived at an audio description which conveyed the essence of what is going on on the stage but not more than that. The training course today still emphasises the need for the audio describer not to speak on top of the actors’ voices.”

As well as theatrical performances, Bridget has also provided audio descriptions for shows such as Castle of Light at Edinburgh Castle, explaining in words what could be seen during the tour round the ramparts.

Secretary of State for Scotland and Edinburgh South MP, Ian Murray said: “Bridget Stevens’ MBE is well-deserved recognition for her exceptional dedication to audio description. Over more than two decades, her pioneering work has made theatre and cultural experiences accessible to visually impaired audiences. She has worked right across the UK, from traditional venues to remarkable locations like Edinburgh Castle and Aberdeen Beach. As someone who represents Edinburgh, I’m particularly proud that Bridget, a Merchiston resident, has led the way in inclusive theatre. Congratulations once again.”

Callum Madge, Access Manager Edinburgh International Festival said: “Not only is Bridget a great audio describer, she is an extremely helpful and generous person. When I started as Access Manager with the International Festival, she went out of her way to connect me with other audio describers, and she always spreads the word about the amazing audio described shows in our programme with those experiencing sight loss so they can in share the enjoyment of live performance.”

Anne Dignan, who is partially sighted, said: “I am so happy and delighted that Bridget’s longstanding ,considerable  and valuable work within the Sightloss communities has been deservedly recognised. Her tireless work within the specialist communications’ field of “Audio Description  has proved invaluable to blind and partially sighted patrons such as myself, whilst attending performing arts events.
Without this facility many of us would not be able to access shows and plays in the theatre. 
“Her contributions have empowered and encouraged positive well being within the Visual Impairment Community.
Bridget certainly shines a torch to guide us within our world of varying degrees of darkness!

“Brava Bridget”

Audio description is available all year but may be especially useful during the festivals

Audio Description is a free service designed to enable audience members who have a visual impairment to understand, appreciate and enjoy live theatre just as much as sighted people do. If you are blind or partially sighted, you can listen to live commentary delivered through a headset which will describe the set, the costumes, the actors’ appearance and the action. Details from [email protected] or [email protected]