Gateshead International
Festival of Theatre
Sat 2 May | 4pm
Online performance | Age 16+ | Subtitled throughout
Augmented
Sophie Woolley
Just flick a switch and everything will be okay.
This brand new play by writer and performer Sophie Woolley is a personal story about the joy, and conflict, of becoming ‘hearing’ again after 22 years of progressive deafness.
From going deaf in her 20s, Sophie, aged 39, was activated as a real-life ‘cyborg’; welcomed back into the hearing world and even able to stream music directly to her brain.
This funny and energetic one person show brings to life Sophie’s real experiences and explores the impact of her ‘activation’ on her sense of self and on the very closest of her relationships. As we begin to understand her journey more, Sophie invites us to consider the transformative power of technology; is her experience a blueprint for the future of humanity?
This show is subtitled throughout.
Written and performed by Sophie Woolley. Directed by Rachel Bagshaw and filmed by Toby Bennett, it features creative captions by award-winning Josh Pharo, design by award-winning set and costume designer Laura Hopkins and Khadja Raza, and an amazing soundtrack by Adrienne Quartly.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. The original R&D was funded in its development by Unlimited, celebrating the work of disabled artists, with funding from Arts Council England. Originally developed with Ovalhouse. Supported by the New Wolsey Theatre. Augmented is sponsored by Advanced Bionics.
Image: Helen Murray
Ticket information and accessing events online
Due to Covid-19, this year's GIFT festival has been re-imagined online providing a digital space for us to come together and experience work and participate in virtual discussion events and workshop activities.
Tickets are limited and Pay What You Decide. You can make a donation to support this year’s festival here
Artist biographies
Sophie Woolley
Sophie Woolley is a writer, performer and director of Augmented Productions, an associate company of Told by an Idiot. Sophie first worked with Told by an Idiot as part of their Let Me Play the Lion Too ensemble at The Barbican. She performed Augmented at Royal Exchange Theatre, Birmingham Rep and Salisbury Playhouse in March 2020 before remaining tour dates, due to the pandemic.
As a writer and actor, Sophie has also worked with Ovalhouse, Soho Theatre, the Lyric Hammersmith, Barbican, BBC 1, Channel 4, BBC Radio 4, London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
Theatre writing includes When to Run, Fight and Bee Detective, directed by Gemma Fairlie. In 2017 she collaborated with Unmute choreographer, Andile Vellem, in South Africa, on The Fake Interpreter.
BBC Radio plays include Carbon Cleansing and Absolutely Delish: Grazing. Her web series Deaf Faker can be found on YouTube.