Visual Vernacular Workshop with Zoë McWhinney

Saturday 7th March

39010:30am – 5pm

Join one of the UK’s leading Visual Vernacular (VV) performers, Zoë McWhinney, for an immersive full-day workshop exploring the power of visual storytelling.

Visual Vernacular blends sign language, mime and gesture to create cinematic narratives that captivate Deaf and hearing audiences alike. Through precise use of facial expression, body movement and spatial awareness, VV performers sculpt entire worlds in the air — shifting seamlessly between characters, objects and environments. Stories can zoom in and out, slow down or speed up, and unfold like films projected directly into the audience’s imagination.

In this workshop, participants will:

Explore the foundations of Visual Vernacular storytelling

Learn how to create clear visual narratives using gesture, facial expression and body positioning

Experiment with role shifting, scale, perspective and rhythm

Develop confidence in creating vivid “long shots” and “close-ups”

Gain insight into how VV can be used in performance, poetry and theatre.

The day will be practical, playful and creative, suitable for performers, poets, signers and anyone interested in visual storytelling.

About Zoë McWhinney

Zoë McWhinney (She/They) is a BSL poet and Visual Vernacular performer based in South East London. Born to a Deaf Northern Irish father and a Belgian-Finnish CODA mother, Zoë grew up deeply immersed in Deaf culture alongside her three Deaf/HoH brothers.

Zoë has performed at major venues including The Roundhouse, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and The Barbican, and made history as the first Deaf and BSL poet published in British Sign Language by Modern Poetry and Translation magazine. Their work has been shortlisted for the Forward Prizes for Poetry 2025 – Best Single Poem (Performed). Zoë’s BSL poetry performance of Dot Miles’ classic poem The Staircase (available for free online at LumoTV) showcases their exceptional ability to create rich, cinematic storytelling using elements of VV in her BSL.

They served as British Deaf Association BSL Poet Laureate for 2023–24 and 2025–26, and leads workshops for the Deaf community in range of settings from afternoon teas to and Deafinitely Youth Theatre and academic institutions such as the Royal Central School and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Known internationally as her Instagram alter-ego “rapuznel,” she shares her art as a Visual Vernacular (VV) performer in various shows and competitions online and offline. She has been invited to perform her sign language poetry around the globe from Oslo, Norway; Piran, Slovenia and the United Nations headquarters in Geneva to Osaka in Japan.

photography:

Stephen Iliffe

Deaf Mosaic