People of the Eye ★★★★
Edinburgh Summerhall (Venue 26)
Until Saturday 27th August 2016
Very
rarely is there theatre that focuses solely on the experiences of the disabled,
so it was wonderfully refreshing to see People of the Eye’s creative
exploration of deafness. I went into the theatre having never had to question
my own, rather taken for granted, ability to hear. I left with the experiences
of deafness, that The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble’s show had so creatively
managed to communicate, imprinted very vividly on my mind and emotions.
On
learning that this piece was about a family having a deaf child and becoming
accustomed to the challenges that brings, you might assume this play was quite
sad. Indeed, there were most definitely poignant and upsetting parts. But Emily
Howlett and Erin Siobhan Hutching’s performances are charming and witty to
match the varied narrative that examines both the sad and amusing complexities
of families having to adapt to a new way of life. And they do communicate the
sense of separate worlds. At one point, Erin’s character
ponders with a hint of sadness how she was ‘welcomed into [her sister’s] deaf
world’, forcing the audience to think about how accommodated deaf people are
into a world of sound. Yet their show answers this by asking the audience to put
themselves in the shoes of these characters. With only sheets of paper, a few
chairs and a video projector, this show induces empathy through creativity at
the highest level.
This
was what struck me the most, the imaginativeness of their story telling, and
how effectively it made the audience understand. I enjoyed half way through
finding myself in a sign language class. It took us a while to realise that
Emily wanted to us respond to her sign. But her confident and endearing
performance kept the audience engaged and supported through our muddled
attempts. It was a practical and delightful way for the audience to confront
the challenges that the family had to face.
They
used the space to its fullest abilities as well. The audience felt the weight
of bureaucratic and overly formal medical treatment, as the doctor revealing
the results of the baby’s hearing tests moved like a robot. She walked around
the space in right angles and straight lines with a blank face, heightening the
mother’s bewildered and isolated expression. This was a moving moment as the
parents fear for her child felt unsupported, her loneliness emphasised as the
doctor’s words were typed out on the screen at the back; indeed, the formality
of the doctor was comparable to receiving such news by a letter.
With
their topic and focus, the use of silence was moving and powerful. At one
point, the audience were placed in the silent world of a deaf person, as Emily
followed her sister around what I presume was a university open day. Her sister
talked to person after person, coming from each with papers to pile on top of
her sister, who looked growingly agitated. Erin mimed
talking, so the focus was solely on Emily’s isolation under the growing
information which she felt cut off from. They were great at building the
tension, as Emily scrambled to keep a hold of all the papers – synonymous with
her scrambling to understand the overwhelmingly silent world around her. She
eventually breaks. It was a moving and heart breaking moment in which a young
girl didn’t feel in control or in tune with her environment.
What
is exciting about devised work with such a fluid narrative is that it always
has room to grow. There were points in the beginning that felt they could
benefit from more time in the rehearsal room, moments where dialogue is
delivered but doesn’t use the space as creatively as the rest of the play. But
when watching this show, which moved me with very little words about an
experience so far removed from my own, I am only eager to know how they’ll develop
it more. I know that if I were to see this again I would only continue to learn
from, and feel more for the stories they tell.
Review
by Jackie Edwards
Tickets:
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