Jenny Sealey has been the artistic director of Graeae Theatre Company since 1997: Graeae is a deaf and disabled-led company and a leader and innovator in accessible theatre. Jenny has directed opera as well as plays, and was the co-director of the 2012 Paralympic opening ceremony. Jenny was born in Nottingham in 1963, the eldest of four sisters. She lost her hearing at the age of seven following a fall at school in which she banged her head. At that time, deaf children were not encouraged to use British Sign Language, and so she taught herself to lip read, and stayed in a mainstream school, although she often found it challenging. She also continued to take ballet lessons, helped by an inspirational teacher who encouraged her to follow the form and movements of the dancer in front of her. She went on to study dance and choreography at Middlesex Polytechnic. After graduation, Jenny worked as an actor before becoming the artistic director of Graeae. In 2022 she was awarded an OBE for services to disability arts. Most recently she returned to acting and toured the UK with Self Raising, her one-woman autobiographical play. Jenny lives in London with her son and partner. DISC ONE: Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. 2: No. 44, Chorus. Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth. Composed by George Frideric Handel and performed by The Sixteen Choir, conducted by Harry Christophers DISC TWO: Yesterday - The Beatles DISC THREE: Teenage Kicks - The Undertones DISC FOUR: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack DISC FIVE: Because The Night - Patti Smith Group DISC SIX: Spasticus Autisticus – John Kelly and the cast of Reasons to be Cheerful DISC SEVEN: If It Can't Be Right Then It Must Be Wrong – John Kelly and the cast of Graeae’s stage production of Reasons To Be Cheerful DISC EIGHT: Days – Kirsty MacColl BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Works of Armistead Maupin LUXURY ITEM: A photography kit CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Handel: Messiah, HWV 56, Pt. 2: No. 44, Chorus. Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth. Composed by George Frideric Handel and performed by The Sixteen Choir, conducted by Harry Christophers Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor
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Hello, I'm Lauren Laverne and this is the Desert Island Discs podcast.
Every week, I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
And for rights reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
I hope you enjoy listening.
My castaway this week is the theatre director, Jenny Seeley.
She's been a driving force in british theatre for almost 30 years as the artistic director of Grey Eye, the deaf and disabled led theatre company.
During her tenure, Grey Eye has generated a sea change in attitudes towards the range of people we see on our stages and screens, and towards those working behind the scenes, too.
Her first steps into the arts were taken in ballet shoes.
She lost her hearing at the age of seven, but her dance teacher helped her realize she could still pursue the discipline she loved without hearing music.
It was a revelation that she says saved her and music has been a key feature in many of her productions.
She has directed opera as well as plays and co created the spectacular paralympic opening ceremony for London 2012, where, for one night only, Professor Stephen Hawking joined dance duo Orbital.
She says, I've never been someone who's afraid of taking on new challenges.
I'm still excited about what's next and how we're going to approach it, and I've come to realise that I personally am a part of what's next.
Jenny Seeley, welcome to Desert island discs.
Hello and thank you for having me.
We should also welcome to the programme your friend and british sign language interpreter Jenny Draper, who's going to be signing throughout our interview.
Jenny, thank you for joining us.
Hello.
Jenny Seeley, you at Grey Eye would usually start with an audio description of yourself.