“A deaf actor will always be an actor first, with individual talents, personality, training and artistic strengths.”
For Olivia Burton-Laws, that's the starting point.
The performer from Pontefract is preparing to make her professional debut in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad at York Theatre Royal this October. She secured the role before graduating from Leeds Conservatoire, where she trained in acting.
Olivia, who will be 22 during the production, will perform as Naiad Mother using spoken English and British Sign Language, as Tanis using limited speech and BSL, and as part of the ensemble.
The opportunity brings together two ambitions: developing her acting career and increasing the visibility of deaf performers and BSL within theatre.
“It has always been my mission to raise deaf awareness in the theatre, and this production gives me the opportunity to showcase the strengths of a deaf actor through both BSL and spoken English,” she says.
“BSL offers additional expressions allowing actors to convey meaning and emotion in visually compelling ways. I do hope that the audience will support having a deaf actor to visually tell part of this story.”
Olivia’s account places BSL within her artistic practice: a language through which she can communicate character, emotion and meaning.
That's a significant part of this story. Discussion of access often centres on the audience’s encounter with a finished production. Olivia also draws attention to the performers creating it, and the possibilities they bring into the rehearsal room.
Her roles in The Penelopiad will involve different combinations of signing and speech. They give audiences an opportunity to encounter her work through both.
The production stars Amelia Bullmore as Penelope and is directed by Juliet Forster. Atwood’s retelling revisits Homer’s The Odyssey through Penelope and her chorus of maids, shifting attention towards women whose perspectives challenge the familiar heroic account.
Within that production, Olivia will begin the next stage of a performing life that started in childhood.
Olivia began dancing at three. At school, her interests expanded to drama, art and sport, before she went on to study Drama and Performing Arts at college and achieve four A Levels.
Acting training at Leeds Conservatoire followed.
Looking back on that experience, she describes an environment in which she could participate fully and seek additional support when she needed it.
“Life at Leeds Conservatoire was pretty amazing. From the very first day I was included in everything and was always offered any extra help should I need it,” she says.
“I embraced every session and I took every opportunity to ensure that I could experience all aspects of my course. My peers and tutors were all fantastic and were always there to support and encourage me.”
There are two important elements in Olivia's account: the support available around her, and her own determination to make the most of the training.
For organisations developing the next generation of performers, her experience offers a practical point of reflection. Inclusion needs to work across the course, allowing students to develop their skills, take creative risks and participate in the opportunities available to their peers.
Olivia’s description of being included “from the very first day” gives that ambition a concrete meaning.
The news of her casting arrived before her graduation ceremony.
“I was so excited when I got the news, I couldn’t believe that I had my first performance booked before my graduation,” she says.
She then received a public acknowledgement from the conservatoire’s principal, Professor Joe Wilson.
“I was taken aback when Principal Professor Joe Wilson gave me a shout out at my graduation ceremony; it was truly a great moment to share with all my friends.”
It marked the connection between her training and the professional opportunity ahead: a first job secured, with the people who had shared that period of her life there to celebrate.
The York production will now give her space to put those skills to work alongside an experienced cast and creative team.
Olivia is clear about what she hopes the industry will recognise.
“Who knows where this will take me next, but what is important is that being deaf is not a limitation on acting ability,” she says.
“A deaf actor will always be an actor first, with individual talents, personality, training and artistic strengths, which can bring powerful and distinctive strengths to a performance.”
That insistence on individuality is obviously crucial. Greater representation involves recognising actors as artists with their own abilities, interests and ambitions, and creating opportunities for those qualities to shape the work.
Olivia’s debut is one such opportunity. Her advocacy also asks theatres to think beyond a single casting decision: about training, rehearsal practices and the range of performers considered for future roles.
For audiences in York this October, the immediate invitation is to see an actor beginning her professional career.
For Olivia, it is also a chance to demonstrate what she has been developing for years - and to make BSL part of the telling.
The Penelopiad runs at York Theatre Royal from 10–31 October 2026, with previews from 10 October and its official opening on 14 October.
The production is directed by Juliet Forster and stars Amelia Bullmore as Penelope.
Tickets and performance information: York Theatre Royal.
