A striking tale of the power of silence and collective resistance, adapted from Ilya Kaminsky’s renown book.
*Some Spoilers ahead*
The people of Vasenka are deaf. No longer will they hear the bombs falling on their occupied city, or the jeers of soldiers in the streets. The people of Vasenka are deaf, and they are resisting.‘Deaf Republic’ is an astounding story about collective resistance and the need to be seen amongst oppression. Featuring puppetry, videography, aerial performance, sign language and surtitles, it is a genuinely accessible and multimedia play that totally transcends genre and is unlike anything I have ever seen.
The play is an adaptation of Iliya Kaminsky’s much loved collection of poetry by the same name, and is written and directed by Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd in collaboration with Zoe Mcwhinney. The cast is a mixture of Deaf and hearing actors (though all communicate in BSL at some point), and together they bring to life Mcwhinney’s intricate script to make a new kind of language — one, often, of total silence. The story that follows is told through a mixture of BSL, captions and interpretation. The linguistic currency of this production feels vast — there are layers and nuances I’m sure I missed; in fact, the actors suggest that people that don’t understand sign language might not fully understand everything that is conveyed (though they have kindly provided an interpreter for us to make things truly accessible). I have never felt so captivated by scenes in a language I do not understand. I have never felt so drawn in by a play that deals in so much silence.
The people of Vasenka demand to be seen, and we get this sense through the use of live video recording and the puppet show device. The audience resumes different roles throughout, seeing through the eyes of Petya, a young boy unjustly murdered that becomes the catalyst to the story; or addressed as the audience of Galya’s theatre. We are often asked to leave. At one point we are scanned slowly by a drone that moves across the front of the audience, streaming its footage live onto the screen before us. It’s voyeuristic. A lot of the action feels intangible — told behind thin screens, or through the lens of a camera, or as rudimentary puppets. However, this is never alienating; in fact I found myself consistently leaning in, wanting to absorb more. The effect is also often comedic, especially earlier on, watching puppets whimsically float in and out of scenes. We are kindly cushioned from the action, safe in our seats. But this starts to break down as the play continues, with actors winched up into the rigging by thick ropes every time they die. They become their own puppets. The effect is chilling.
A production of such scope demands a lot from its actors, but as an ensemble they were extraordinary across the board. Caoimhe Coburn Gray provides an incredible warmth to Sonya, and Romel Belcher is a sure and steady Alphonso — our guide of sorts. Lisa Kelly shines as the play goes on, coming into her own towards the end. Moukarzel and Kidd’s direction is strong and inventive, and for a play that is so much about silence, Kevin Gleeson’s composition and sound design is truly beautiful. What shines most here though is Mcwhinney’s script — economical, witty and packing an enormous punch. It is a perfect example of how much can be said in so few words.
Ultimately, the people of Vasenka surrender. The solider has the last word. We are gently encouraged to consider the oppression we might be deaf to in our every day lives beyond the walls of the theatre. “When it’s over,” says Alphonso, as his fellow cast members are slowly winched into the air to dangle lifelessly from their strings, “we leave the theatre, and say Thank God. it didn’t happen to me. it didn’t happen to us.” But we are also reminded of why we come to the theatre in the first place: “to try and understand each other.” To listen to each others’ stories. And it’s true, I’m glad what happened to the people of Vasenka didn’t happen to me. But ‘Deaf Republic’ and the understanding of the world it has given me is decidedly a story that will be with me for quite some time.