Captioned Performances

At Captioned performances, the actors’ spoken words are converted into visible text via two display screens on stage, one on each side. The text scrolls at the same speed as the dialogue, making it easy to follow with the action on stage. This type of captioning is known as open captioning.

Our Box Office team can advise on the best seats for viewing the captions, or you can view our recommended seating (shown in green) here.

We also offer closed captioning via The Difference Engine on selected shows. At these performances, the captions are presented on each individual’s personal smart device, usually a mobile phone or tablet, via The Difference Engine app. Please see the section at the bottom of this page for more information about the system, and how to connect.

In 2019, we were delighted to work with Talking Birds Theatre Company to bring The Difference Engine to Curve, enabling us to offer Captioned Performances across several shows at our New Work Festival.

The Difference Engine is an innovative tool created by Talking Birds to help make performances accessible for as many people as possible. It enables audience members to receive captions on their own mobile devices – such as smartphones and tablets – via a free app available to download on both the App Store (for iOS 7.1 and above) and Google Play Store.

For more details about The Difference Engine, including tips for downloading and using the app, please click here.

We hope to offer more performances captioned via The Difference Engine in the future, and upcoming performances will be added here as and when they are confirmed. To find out more about The Difference Engine, please visit talkingbirds.co.uk/DE.

Audience members who would benefit from the support of a companion during their visit may be eligible for a free Essential Carer ticket with each standard ticket booked for a performance.

To access the concession, we recommend joining our Access Register Scheme so that you don’t need to resubmit evidence each time you book. For more details about the register, please see our Access page.