AUGMENTED Will Tour the UK

Next Spring, writer and performer Sophie Woolley's second solo show is to tour the UK, shedding light on her personal experiences of undergoing cochlear implant surgery after twenty years of deafness. Augmented follows her enlightening, and often conflicted, journey to being reintroduced to the hearing community and how this impacted her closest relationships. From her experiences of going deaf in her teens as a result of hereditary progressive hearing loss, to being able to stream music directly into her brain as a "cyborg," Sophie brings to life the transformative power of her Advanced Bionics cochlear implant. Sophie is the director of Augmented Productions, the inaugural associate company of Told by an Idiot.

Augmented is directed by Rachel Bagshaw (The Shape of the Pain) with movement direction from Rachel Drazek, who has previously worked on National Theatre Scotland's award-winning My Left/ Right Foot (2018). Video design is from Knights of the Illumination award nominee Joshua Pharo. Augmented won the Pulse Festival Suitcase Day Prize and was part of the FiRST BiTE season of work in progress shows at Ovalhouse.

Writer and performer Sophie Woolley said, "I went deaf over 20 years. In 2013 I had a cochlear implant. It changed my life and the way I engaged with culture. I've been hearing, deaf and now I'm what I call a 'deaf cyborg'. Having a cochlear implant didn't just change my life, it made me see culture differently. There were no shows that reflected my experience of the world, so I decided to make one - to share both the joy and fear of becoming a cyborg. In the future, I think hearing people will try to be more like me, rather than me trying to be more like them."

Augmented Productions is a new company set up by writer and performer Sophie Woolley. Sharing unexpected, tragic-comic stories and bringing joy and new understanding, Augmented Productions makes quality, accessible theatre. The company begins its journey with its namesake production, Augmented, which tells Sophie's real life experience of becoming a deaf cyborg.

Tour Dates

5 - 7 March Royal Exchange Theatre

St Ann's Square, Manchester, M2 7DH

Times and Prices TBC

www.royalexchange.co.uk | 0161 833 9833

9 - 11 March Birmingham Rep

Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2EP

Times and Prices TBC

www.birmingham-rep.co.uk | 0121 236 4455

12 - 14 March Salisbury Playhouse, The Salberg

Malthouse Lane, Salisbury, SP2 7RA

Times and Prices TBC

www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk | 01722 320 333

18 - 21 March Theatre Royal Plymouth, The Drum

Royal Parade, Plymouth, PL1 2TR

Times and Prices TBC

theatreroyal.com | 01752 267222

25 March Cambridge Junction

Clifton Way, Cambridge, CB1 7GX

Times and Prices TBC

www.junction.co.uk | 01223 511 511