A fabulous second weekend of entertainment is about to get underway at the fifth annual Edinburgh Deaf Festival with an abundance of shows for adults and children.

One of the big attractions will be Lights & Lanterns (produced by Spectroscope) in which actors David Ellington (pictured) and Ciaran O’Breen perform the roles of Victorian deaf artists Harry Ash and Harry Bow.

Audiences are invited to step inside an emporium of light and shadow in which a 130-year-old magic lantern is used to project images of old Edinburgh. There will also be shadow puppetry set against an image of the city skyline. It’s a playful and interactive experience where people can create their own hand-painted glass slides and try their hand at being a Victorian projectionist.

Another family-friendly event is The Librarians: Step into a world where books burst into life! Meet the wonderfully quirky Miss Book and Mr Page as they discover the adventures hidden in their library of old books. A celebration of everyone’s stories!

For adults there is:

  • A Night in Sign: A vibrant BSL-led cabaret event. Hosted by Nadeem Islam and featuring performances from acclaimed deaf artist Chris Fonseca alongside some of the UK’s most exciting Deaf creatives.
  • Pray for Me: Sarah Adedeji’s raw, intimate and visually striking blend of poetry, movement, dance and live music (by ISRA3L). A work in development it explores the barriers, prejudice and cultural assumptions faced by a young black woman from London being raised by a highly religious Nigerian family.

And these are just some of the highlights. From Friday to the end of the 10-day festival on Sunday there will be around three dozen events and activities. There is Deaf Karaoke, a deaf makers’ market, a Park Run, yoga, museum tour, boxing, a zoo tour, storytelling workshop and plenty more. There is also an exhibition of work by deaf artists Trudi Collier, Viktoriya Rudenko and Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq.

EDF is a celebration of deaf culture and is organised by Deaf Action (the world’s oldest deaf charity and deaf-led organisation which dates back 190 years to 1835).

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