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Raymond Antrobus sitting sideways on wearing a green jacket against a leafy background.
View all events for category: Literature & poetry

Raymond Antrobus: The Quiet Ear

The writer discusses his new memoir with Rose Ayling-Ellis, exploring what it means to live between deaf and hearing worlds, alongside live performances.

More details for Purcell Room
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Award-winning British-Jamaican writer Raymond Antrobus was first diagnosed as deaf at the age of seven. The Quiet Ear tells the story of Antrobus’ childhood, his first experience using hearing aids, his troubled adolescence and the parallel mainstream and deaf education systems.

Blending memoir, criticism and biography with a poet’s precision, Antrobus crafts a powerful meditation on deafness, language, and identity, offering a groundbreaking perspective on what it means to listen and be heard.

This launch event, hosted by Nadeem Islam and Rose Ayling-Ellis, brings together a range of D/deaf artists for performances and discussion, including a short performance of ‘Follow the Signs’, an autobiographical piece following dance artist and choreographer Chris Fonseca’s journey of self-discovery in BSL, rap and creative captions.

The world’s premier solo percussionist, Dame Evelyn Glennie, also performs an evocative, improvised soundscape to accompany prose written and read live on stage by Antrobus.

Raymond Antrobus is the author of four collections of poetry, most recently Signs/Music (Tin House).

Rose Ayling-Ellis has produced two documentaries with Rogan Productions and the BBC, Old Hands, New Tricks, and Signs for Change, which explore the importance of BSL and the significance of Deaf culture within our society.

Chris Fonseca is a multidisciplinary artist excelling as a dance artist, choreographer, actor, and co-artistic director for Fuse Theatre CIC.

Dame Evelyn Glennie is the world’s premier solo percussionist, and composes for film, theatre and television.

Nadeem Islam is an award-nominated actor, presenter and Creative BSL Consultant.

Harry Jardine is a theatre director, producer, and co-artistic director of Fuse Theatre CIC, and co-founder of Streatham Space Project.

‘Follow the Signs’ is written and performed by Chris Fonseca and Harry Jardine, produced by Yacoub Didi, and recorded, mixed and mastered by Callum Brewer.

Need to know

Age guidance
For ages 16+
Event information

The Quiet Ear is available as an optional add-on at point of purchase for the discounted price of £12.99 (RRP £16.99).

Image gallery

Dame Evelyn Glennie wearing a black suit playing a waterphone.
Stephen Iliffe
View larger image 1 of 4. Dame Evelyn Glennie wearing a black suit playing a waterphone.
Nadeem Islam wearing a blue shirt against a black background.
Dan Pick
View larger image 2 of 4. Nadeem Islam wearing a blue shirt against a black background.
Rose Ayling-Ellis sitting with her chin in her hand.
Yellow Belly
View larger image 3 of 4. Rose Ayling-Ellis sitting with her chin in her hand.
Chris Fonseca and Harry Jardine performing Follow the Signs onstage.
View larger image 4 of 4. Chris Fonseca and Harry Jardine performing Follow the Signs onstage.

Access

This event is Speech-to-Text transcribed (STT) and British Sign Language interpreted (BSL). Interpretation is by Hahna Ahmed and Natasha Trantom (subject to change).

To book tickets for BSL interpretation, email [email protected] or call us on 020 3879 9555.

You can join our free Access Scheme through your online Southbank Centre account or via email.
Find out more about our Access Scheme
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For your visit

This event is held at the Purcell Room Southbank Centre

The Purcell Room is located in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.

Concrete interior of Purcell Room entrance at Southbank Centre View larger image

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The Purcell Room is an auditorium located within our Queen Elizabeth Hall.

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