With the exception of a couple of David Hare plays (I know, I know, the critics love him, and I’m tried him, twice … but Racing Green and that other one I can’t remember the title are internably dull…) every play at the Salisbury Playhouse is worth going to. Incredibly well done Mark Medoff’s play was wonderfully created on the stage.
The play opened with a dark stage and a very simple set. The two leads, James and Sarah were at the front of the stage, and it opened with Sarah’s silent and signed confrontation to her (we realise later, husband). At this point, I thought, that we might be in for a long hawl of unexplained signing, but I was wrong. It was a rollercoaster of a story involving a small cast of characters, and the three deaf characters were actually played by deaf actors.
Towards the end, at the point where Sarah, screams out *words* it shocks you into remembering the silence of it. Throughout the play James (Dan Fredenburgh) has talked and signed with a signing Sarah (played by Diana Martin) through a tumultuous first meeting, through to falling in love, and getting married, and their silent communication seems natural, and successful. This outpouring of sound then, serves to bring the sharp reality of the situation home.
Sound played an important part in the play, and it was used creatively, with different levels of exterior sound played in to illustrate the deaf world. And the choice of Sigur-Rós’ Agaetis Byrjun seemed to fit wonderfully to the mood of the play.
If you get a chance, see this (or another production) of this play!
