wevoices is dedicated to providing a high quality audio
description service to the blind and partially sighted
community.
Willie Elliott first started working as an audio describer in
2001 with Graeae Theatre Company in their production of
‘The Changeling’.
He became a regular describer for Vocaleyes and regularly
describes productions in London’s West End.
He has worked on a wide variety of events from opera, ballet
and drama to circus and live street events, such as the
Greenwich and Docklands International Festival.
For two years running, Willie travelled to Adelaide to spend
time training describers and creating relationships with artists
and to describe at the AdelaideInternational festival
In 2012 Willie co-described the opening ceremony of the
Paralympic Games on More 4.
This was the first time a live event was audio described on an
open television channel, without the need to use the red
button.
2014 brought the opening and closing ceremonies for the
Winter Paralympics in March, described live for Channel 4.
Willie is part of the description team at the Royal National
Theatre and works alongside Sightlines, providing
introductory audio notes for the Royal Opera House, Royal
Ballet and The English National Opera.
He was invited to Vienna for two years running, to describe
and teach at Impulzdance International Festival.
At present Willie is working with dancer and choreographer
Stuart Waters, developing dance with integrated audio
description in collaboration with The Place Theatre.
In the past year, Willie has been doing a lot of digital work for
the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and Sheffield
Theatres, to name a few.
“Audio description is not a fixed thing with a single approach.
Every production is unique and the describer needs to be
flexible enough to recognize the
requirements for each.” (Willie Elliott)