Meyyappan is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to building endless worlds of play onstage and then fully embodying, inhabiting, and filling them to the brim with his bursting creative heart
Ramesh Meyyappan – a Glasgow-based Singaporean theatre maker and Deaf artist – graced the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his latest piece, Last Rites. Produced by Bristol-based theatre company Ad Infinitum, Last Rites was a part of this year’s Here & Now Showcase. With stunning visuals, an elegantly simple set, and mind-blowing movement, this production explores the death of a parent through the lenses of disability and cultural identity.
This non-verbal story (accessible to Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing audiences) follows Arjun, whose father has just died and on whom he is tasked with performing the Hindu last rite of ceremonial bathing. This would be fine and normal, except for the fact that Arjun and his father weren’t very close at the time of his death. His father never learned sign language.
Through mesmerizingly precise and dexterous movement and BSL, Meyyappan’s Arjun emotionally unpicks the communication barrier that kept them apart all these years while he undertakes the ritual of washing his father’s body. In one of the most magical devices of the piece, Meyyappan transforms between Arjun and his father, tracing a moving visual thread between father and son when, given their charged relationship, none seems possible. Meyyappan does this with such grace and intention every time, he practically radiates love to the farthest walls of the theatre. To put it simply, it is difficult not to be moved while Meyyappan is at work.
In the absence of a shared language, this piece also makes use of the large screen upstage to create a new language between father and son, ingeniously blending BSL, animated visuals, and closed captions in a cheeky and original way that honors the story in both form and function. Where the piece sometimes falters in maintaining a steady pace, it makes up for it with a rich visual and sonic landscape that Meyyappan seems to have absolutely no problem filling with his infinite storehouse of physical and storytelling mastery.
Meyyappan is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to building endless worlds of play onstage and then fully embodying, inhabiting, and filling them to the brim with his bursting creative heart.
Last Rites was a part of the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and played until 24 August. More info here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/last-rites-here-now-showcase