Deaf Republic by Dead Centre and Zoë McWhinney. Has been adapted for the stage from the book by Ilya Kaminsky. Directors Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel use a combination of British Sign Language, spoken word, puppetry and surtitles (not a spelling mistake) along with live footage and video segments to bring the horrors of this play to life with excellent precision.

What happens when a country comes under attack from invaders? The outside world can appear to become deaf and not hear about the atrocities taking place. Deaf Republic is set in the fictional country of Vasenka. Although the resemblance to the war in Gaza and Ukraine echoes through the performance.

The performance offers an insight the flight or fight mode many enter when faced with survival in war-torn environments. As poet Alphonso (Romel Belcher) proves by all his attentions on his pregnant wife Sonya played by Caoimhe Coburn Gray. The couple are focused on making their flat and life as “normal” as possible and remains upbeat and cheerful.

The couple continue performing their puppet shows to the citizens (audience) to keep a sense of normality alive, until things take a turn for the worse and a deaf child, Petya is killed for understandably not hearing the commands of a soldier.

Set designer Jeremy Herbert adds layer upon layer of gauze to offer a hazed view of the war, many of us only ever experiencing things through a screen and Herbert recreates that effect on the stage. There’s the gentle snow falling on the wedding day offering a moment of calm and peace. Followed by a full-sized military jeep appearing which leads to death and hanging corpses. Visually Deaf Republic never stops and changes in a heartbeat. An incredibly powerful achievement by Herbert.

In my experience and watching other audience members’ body language this is a play you cannot fail to “feel” the horror of their situation and with the majority of the performance spoken in BSL, you have to watch intently to understand and follow the storyline, making the audience work hard. There is nothing easy about War!

For more information about Deaf Republic and future productions at the Royal Court Theatre please use the link below.

Five Stars

Photo credit Johan Persson

https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/deaf-republic/

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Information
Deaf Republic is intended to be accessible for a range of deaf and hearing audiences, created by an integrated deaf and hearing ensemble.

Running time1hr 45mins

Author

Ben Kidd, Bush Moukarzel, Zoë McWhinney, Ilya Kaminsky

Adapter

Dead Centre, Zoë McWhinney

Translator

Senan Dunne

Composer

Kevin Gleeson

Dramaturg

Lydia Gratis, Jess Latowicki

Director

Ben Kidd, Bush Moukarzel

Fight director

Ciaran O’Grady

Intimacy director

Roisin O’Donovan, Abigail Kessel

Set designer

Jeremy Herbert

Costume designer

Mae Leahy

Lighting designer

Azusa Ono

Sound designer

Kevin Gleeson

Video/projection designer

Grant Gee

Cast includes

Derbhle Crotty, Lisa Kelly, Romel Belcher, Caoimhe Coburn Gray, Kate Finegan, Eoin Gleeson, Dylan Tonge

Production manager

Gavin Kennedy

Stage manager

Amber Chapell, Sibéal Ní Mhaoileoin

Company manager

Mica Taylor

Assistant stage manager

Ross Smith

Producer Complicité,

Dead Centre, Dublin Theatre Festival, Royal Court Theatre