KT Tunstall returns to the Fringe 30 years on with ground-breaking musical
Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall is collaborating on a new musical at the Edinburgh Fringe that integrates British Sign Language and deaf performers. The project, which uses vibration technology to help deaf actors feel music, draws on Tunstall's own experience with hearing loss.
Why it matters
The production represents a significant advancement in inclusive theatre, blending accessibility technology with artistic expression.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Pauline McLean Scotland arts correspondent Alastair More Photography KT Tunstall lost her hearing in one side in 2018 so the project is close to her heart Ten years ago, theatre-maker Cora Bissett attended a showcase at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).
She was there to see some of the first graduates in the Performance in British Sign Language (BSL) and English degree. Among them was one performer who really stood out.
"He was signing his music but it was much more than interpretation of the music," she recalls.
"He was inhabiting the music through his whole body."
That student was Jamie Rea. During the pandemic, he would go on to collaborate with Cora on a short film called The Singer.
It tells the story of a deaf musician who forms an unlikely partnership with a washed-up busker.
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