Smart caption glasses refocus the action for deaf playgoers

For his entire adult life keen theatregoer Tim Hardy, who is partially deaf, has watched plays with a torch in his hand and a script on his lap so he can follow what’s being said on stage. People watch a live performance of Exit the King at the National Theatre while wearing. But from Wednesday he’ll be able to swap those props for a pair of augmented reality glasses that, by displaying subtitles in real time, will let him focus fully on the action.

Tim was completely or partly deaf from the age of 18 until a cochlea implant restored some hearing. “I’m aware I hear everything but don’t interpret everything the first time,” he told Reuters at the National Theatre on London’s South Bank, where an excerpt from “Exit the King” by Eugene Ionesco was performed to a small audience wearing the glasses.

“...I used to buy the text every time and following it with a torch on my lap. Captioning of all sorts being available makes a huge difference.”

Developed by Japanese technology firm Epson, the glasses use software to display captions that are synchronised with the actors’ performances. They are available for hire at the theatre from Wednesday.