Guest Blog: 'I Hope It Breaks The Taboo in Talking About Women’s Issues': Actor Fifi Garfield on Preparing For THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES in BSL

I’m Fifi Garfield and I’m an actor. I’m also deaf, I was born deaf and have been using sign language as my primary source of communication all my life. I use British Sign Language - BSL - daily, hourly, every minute! It’s how I communicate with people and how I access the world.

I’m currently preparing to go in to rehearsals for a UK tour of V’s (formerly Eve Ensler) iconic play - The Vagina Monologues (TVM). In July we’re off to Exeter, Sheffield and Birmingham with a cast of 10 deaf women who will all perform in BSL, some in spoken English and we’ll have a screen on stage that is projecting live written English captions. So anyone and everyone can come along - deaf or hearing - BSL users and non-BSL users.

I was privileged to be in a charity gala production of this play in September 2023 - it was on the UN’s International Day of Sign Languages - 23rd September - and there were 20 deaf and hearing women and non-binary persons who came together - all voluntarily - to create a one-night only showing to raise funds for a charity supporting deaf people who go through domestic abuse. It was a fantastic experience.

We were on the main stage of the Hackney Empire and it was amazing to look out at an audience of deaf and hearing people all supporting the primary language on the stage - BSL.

This production was created by Deafinitely Theatre - they are a deaf-led professional theatre company in the UK who’ve been running for 23 years. Their Artistic Director - Paula Garfield (also my twin sister) - is deaf and an actor and she understands what works well (and what doesn’t work well) for BSL and representations of deaf people on stage. This was all her idea. I’m one of the cast and so excited to be a part of this production.

It was a joy and a challenge to translate V’s English script in to BSL in 2023. We had so many conversations about how to sign specific words and phrases to make sure we captured the layers of meaning, as well as making it accessible, enjoyable and fun. We wanted to celebrate womanhood and feel liberated in the space. I’ve never had so many discussions in a group of women (and non-binary persons) about how to sign all the words related to my vagina! BSL is very visual. So it enriches the visual experience of watching this iconic play. It’s certainly a production that shouldn’t be missed!

I’m excited to re-visit the play again, this time I’m one of 10 deaf women who’ll perform this play. I really hope it breaks the taboo in talking about women’s issues - I hope it starts some important conversations amongst the audience (both deaf and hearing persons) about these topics and makes women realise they are not the only one. Theatre has the power to connect people. As deaf people, we often miss out in vital information, and so this play has the opportunity to begin those conversations, break a few taboos, show people some BSL signs for words (perhaps they’ve never seen before!).

So I can’t wait to get started … I know I’m performing two monologues this time as well as some ensemble scenes. Come along! Support us - learn a few new English words and some BSL …. It’s never too late to learn. I’d love to see more people knowing BSL - and the sign for vagina is a good place to start! Ha! You know you always ask me what are the rude/swear/“dirty”words…. Well there’s a lot in the production. Come to Exeter, Sheffield or Birmingham to find out!

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