Stand and be heard

A deaf soldier leaving the Army for the stage? Tim Barlow recalls how two giants of the theatre helped his career

Actors in small parts should not be writing articles for newspapers to publicise the play they are in. Certainly not the Soothsayer in Cymbeline. Not even a forthcoming Cymbeline with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Thirty lines at the end of the play is nothing to trumpet abroad.

Well, it might not be for you, mate, but it is for me. I am loving every minute of it. It beats attending lip-reading classes for the deafened elderly. Thirty-four years ago when contemplating leaving the Army to become an actor, I was told it would simply not be possible. Deafened by gunfire, it might not be the wisest career move to abandon the services for life in the theatre. Going from the world's most secure profession to the world's most insecure one. Some advice was needed.

Who better to approach then the director of the National Theatre, Sir Laurence Olivier? I got a reply. It started off: "Dear Tim, I write back to you not as the Director of your National Theatre but as a fellow actor." Inspiring or what? He went on to say he too was going a little deaf and had to get others in a good light on stage so he could lip-read cues. He thought I ought to go ahead and wished me luck, signing it "yours ever, Larry".

I was stationed near Stratford-upon-Avon which had a theatre, so I trotted along to see a play. It turned out to be a production of King Lear by the new artistic director, a 27-year-old named Trevor Nunn. The experience was overwhelming, despite not hearing the words. Images burned onto the mind. I rushed home and wrote to Nunn. His reply was instant and encouraging. He said he had worked with Eric Sykes who was also deaf and there was no problem, so I should give it a go.

I shall ever be grateful for that letter. I have seen Trevor Nunn since but am ashamed to admit I never said thank you. The heart thumps in the chest and I freeze. Suppose I cannot hear the reply?

However, there were problems that needed attention along the way. With my high-frequency deafness I do not hear consonants. Once again the RSC stepped in to help. Cicely Berry had recently arrived as its voice coach and took me on as a private pupil.

The next hurdle was talking direction. It was nail-biting at first when I knew directors had taken me on unaware I was deaf. I pretended I could hear and muddled through. During my first play with the RSC, Wild Oats, Clifford Williams delivered a three-hour talk on the style it would be performed in. Not hearing a word, I acted "listening" and then watched the others for clues.

Everything is much easier since the Government's Access to Work scheme was introduced. A Palantype plus operator is assigned to me. This machine translates spoken words to text on a screen in real time. Everything the director says comes up on a computer screen - including his whispered asides, which can often be enlightening!

'Cymbeline' is at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (0870 609 1110; www.rsc.org.uk) from 30 July to 7 November. Tim Barlow also appear in 'As You Like It' at the Swan Theatre to 8 November