From accessibility to inclusion in the theatre: exploring the spectrum between traditional audio introductions and mainstream theatre podcasts

Abstract

Theatres are creating a growing audiovisual ecosystem outside the physical venue, including podcasts and audio introductions (AI), marketed as content for the general public, as an accessibility service or both. This article explores these genres and discusses their potential contribution to the existing “cluster” (Roofthooft in Theaterervaring bij blinden en slechtzienden: een cluster van mogelijkheden: een praktijkgericht onderzoek naar toegankelijkheidsmodaliteiten die bijdragen tot een inclusieve theaterervaring, 2021) of accessibility options that create achievement spaces (Neves in The Palgrave handbook of audiovisual translation and media accessibility. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020) for all. Four episodes of podcasts–AIs are analysed, applying systemic functional linguistics (Halliday and Matthiessen in Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar. London and New York, Routledge, 2014) as a framework. The analysis suggests that “mainstream” podcasts focus on the piece, while AIs refer mostly to the production. The AI communicative functions (Reviers in J Special Transl 35:69–95 8:334–338, 2021) experience a noticeable shift in the mainstream podcasts, as the foreshadowing function (disclosing visual elements of a play) is minimised in favour of informative and certain aesthetic functions. The institutional and expert roles of the speakers in the podcasts allow them to introduce poetic language and address the audience more explicitly, in a similar vein to integrated audio description (Fryer in J of Audiov Transl 1(1):170–186, 2018). Unlike traditional AIs, podcasts include music and ad-libs, incorporating another layer of texture to the text. Mainstream podcasts have the potential to become a complementary access modality to AIs, since they minimise ocular-centric practices present in AI and AD (Chottin and Thompson in L’Esprit Créateur 61(4):32–44, 2021). Furthermore, the hybrid podcast type could be an inclusive solution that targets a wider audience.