As a Deaf actor and artist, Dawn Jani Birley has spent much of her career challenging misconceptions and barriers.
“Lady M” focuses on the tragic hero’s wife, Lady Macbeth, her loss, grief and resentment. Birley will play Lady M, and Sturla Alvsvg, a hearing actor, will portray Macbeth. The set will be “full of surprises,” especially for hearing people who have never attended a Deaf-lead performance, Birley said. “Our lives are full of beauty, but that’s not what’s portrayed. You don’t see it because you’re not part of my world … Our world is a small one. The opportunities offered to us are minuscule, in comparison to the broader artistic world,” she said.
“I had to leave Canada in order to pursue my dream of becoming a professional actor,” said Birley, who studied her craft in England and Scandinavia and has performed in international productions.“Most of the time we don’t have a voice at that table. We’re just sort of put into something and told we’ve been included. That’s not working.”