InterpPlay
A unique professional development opportunity
for sign language interpreters working in theatre.
Meet the team
Dr Siobhán Rocks is a theatre practitioner and registered BSL-English interpreter specialising in performance. Completing her PhD in audiovisual translation in 2019, Siobhán has lectured on the MA courses in Literary Translation and Applied Translation at the University of East Anglia, and on the MA Interpreting course at Queen’s University, Belfast. She regularly presents at international conferences on audiovisual translation, theatre translation, and interpreting. Her most recent publication is the entry 'Sign language interpreting, pragmatics and theatre translation' in the 2019 The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Pragmatics.
Dr Alex McDonald completed his PhD research into the in-vision BSL interpreter in TV drama in 2019, at the University of Leeds. He previously held the post of Senior Lecturer in Interpreting at the University of Wolverhampton, and now works as a freelance trainer and BSL/English interpreter, specialising in theatre. A regular presenter at international conferences in audiovisual translation, his essay 'The in-vision Sign Language Interpreter in British Television Drama', was published in 2012 by Rodopi in Audiovisual Translation & Media Accessibility at the Crossroads: Media for All 3.
Eva Daníčková is a dramaturg and translator of plays. She works in the UK and internationally, both solo and in collaboration with directors, composers and other theatre-makers in a variety of genres. Eva specialises in translating contemporary Czech plays into English, and in 2014 began a PhD in collaborative translation at the University of Hull. Eva's publications include 'Fenomén scénick´ych čtení ve Velké Británii' ('The phenomenon of staged readings in Great Britain') published by NAMU, Prague, in 2014, and she is co-author with Siobhán Rocks on the forthcoming essay 'The Theatre Sign Language Interpreter as Dramaturg'.
InterpPlay associate Jonathan McGrath is a theatre director, facilitator and lecturer who has presented theatre events all over the world. He is an associate lecturer at several universities across the UK and supports many emerging theatre makers in strategies for creating new performance work. Jonathan specialises in training actors for the somatic/psychological challenges that performance brings. He trained at Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre and since then has trained extensively in event management, the methods developed by Polish practitioner Jerzy Grotowski, and humanist teaching practices.
InterpPlay associate Richard Oliver is an actor and director. He trained at the Guildhall School Of Music & Drama and the Oxford School Of Drama. His most recent work includes audio dramas The Light Of September and The Minister Of Chance, and feature films Crucible of the Vampire and Don't You Forget About Me, for which he received the award for best actor at the NYC Indie Film Awards. When not acting he teaches student actors of all ages at The Theatre Space, a studio theatre and rehearsal space in Cheshire, producing regular live theatre across its two in-house companies, and hosting small scale visiting productions.