New partnership introduces next-generation assistive listening technology, creating a more accessible theatre experience for people with a hearing loss
Whether it’s a quiet exchange between characters, a powerful musical score, or a standing ovation, every moment in live theatre matters.
The Shaw Festival is helping more patrons experience those moments by expanding audio accessibility for people who are Hard of Hearing and those experiencing hearing loss.
Through a partnership with Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility, the Shaw Festival is introducing a new hybrid assistive listening system that combines Wi-Fi + Bluetooth and Auracast™ technologies, giving patrons more ways to connect to performances using the hearing technology they already own.
By offering both solutions, the Shaw Festival can support a broader range of compatible hearing aids, cochlear implants, earbuds and headphones. Together, these complementary technologies provide greater accessibility today while preparing for the future of assistive listening.
Interior of the Festival Theatre. Photo by Peter Andrew Lusztyk.
Supported through Wavefront Centre and made possible thanks to The Slaight Family Foundation’s 2024 gift establishing the National Disability Initiative, the project reflects the Shaw Festival’s ongoing commitment to creating welcoming, inclusive, and accessible theatre experiences.
“At the Shaw Festival, we believe theatre is a basic human need and everyone should have the opportunity to experience its power to inspire, connect and delight,” said Tim Jennings, Executive Director/CEO for the Shaw Festival. “Our partnership with Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility will enable more people to experience our productions, strengthening our commitment to creating inclusive theatre experiences where everyone feels welcome and can share in the magic of live performance.”
Beginning with its spectacular holiday production of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella opening on November 20, Shaw will start piloting Wavefront Centre’s technology to complement its existing accessibility offerings by giving patrons another flexible way to experience performances with clearer, more personalized sound.
“The future of accessible listening isn’t one technology, it’s giving people options,” said JoAnn Bentley, Director, Accessibility Services at Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility. By combining Bettear Wi-Fi with emerging Auracast technology, the Shaw Festival is creating an inclusive listening experience that works with the hearing devices people use today while preparing for the next generation of hearing technology. This hybrid approach allows more patrons to experience live theatre using their own hearing aids, cochlear implants, earbuds or headphones.”
The Shaw Festival joins a growing network of Canadian performing arts venues partnering with Wavefront Centre to advance communication accessibility, demonstrating how accessibility and artistic excellence can go hand in hand while creating a model for theatres across the country.
About the Shaw Festival
One of the largest charitable theatre companies in North America, the Shaw Festival’s mission is to enrich and connect people’s lives through theatre. Based in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Shaw Festival’s 2026 Holiday Season includes A Year with Frog and Toad and Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella. The Shaw Festival’s 2027 playbill features Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Color Purple, Deathtrap, Arms and the Man, Grimm Tales, Jumpers, What Every Woman Knows, Goblin:Pygmalion, Intimate Apparel and Agatha Christie’s The Rats and The Patient and A Christmas Carol.
We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. ~ George Bernard Shaw
About Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility
Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility is a Canadian leader in advancing communication accessibility for people who are Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing. Through accessibility services, assistive technology, interpreting, and innovative partnerships, Wavefront Centre creates opportunities for greater connection, inclusion, and participation in everyday life.
