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Dysfunction
Reviews
ROGUES & VAGABONDS
http://www.roguesandvagabonds.co.uk/ press@roguesandvagabonds.co.uk
Tel: 020 8876 0998/1175 13 Elm Road, London SW14 7JL
From: Sarah Vernon Editor Friday
Friday 12th March 2004
Review | DYSFUNCTION | Deafinitely Theatre @ the
Oval House
Dysfunction Deafinitely Theatre @ the Oval
House Theatre, London
Harmonious families (to paraphrase Tolstoy) are all
alike, but every dysfunctional family is dysfunctional
in its own way. This experimental new play, currently
in advanced development, and devised and performed by
Deafinitely Theatre Company, plunges the audience into
the skewed living room of a dysfunctional part-Deaf
part-hearing family. Itıs a play that deals with the
tragic loss of a son, and with the manoeuvres that human
beings undertake in order to get on with their lives
in the midst of all the difficulties that being Deaf
entails. And somehow, as though there were no other
way to proceed, comedy keeps breaking through. Ionesco
would have been interested in some of the visuals this
play has to offer as well as by some of the awkward
questions that it poses.
Middle-aged deaf couple Nigel and Sue battle through
the twenty-third year of their marriage. They have real
marital problems. Their teenage son has died from a
drugs overdose. Sueıs sister is an alcoholic whose hearing
daughter has come to live with them. This daughter has
a boyfriend, Dave, a typical (if slightly OEjack-the-laddishı)
student. Notwithstanding Nigel and Sueıs deafness, communication
between the generations is minimal and flawed. Itıs
a recipe for confusion and dysfunction.
The comedy that keeps breaking through really seeks
to rescue these characters from the lack of communication
that engulfs them. That it doesnıt succeed will be a
major disappointment for lovers of happy endings. Although
Nigel and Sue share Deafness as well as the loss of
their son, they are largely incompatible as a couple.
Meanwhile, the gulf between the generations and the
inevitable collision between the hearing and non-hearing
dimensions of this world cruelly reverberates through
the action. Mobile phones and vacuum cleaners become
alienating objects to contend with in this household
where hearing characters exit without Deaf characters
realizing that theyıve gone causing bewilderment,
frustration and (yes) laughter. Stephen Webbıs thoughtful
direction successfully manages, for the most part, to
maintain this uneasy tension.
Although Dysfunction has some way to go yet before
it fully irons out the last of its creases, you certainly
canıt fault either the set or the lighting or the costumes
that ably assist this group of actors. Fine performances
all round from Paula Garfield, Daryl Jackson, Kate Furby
and Simon Whitehouse and thumbs-up too to the Oval House
Theatre for their friendly service and continuing support
for the only professional Deaf theatre company in England.
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DYSFUNCTION
By Deafinitely Theatre
This
work in progress explores dysfunctional family relationships
and is aimed towards both a deaf and hearing audience.
A tall order but one at which they succeed.
At
the moment DYSFUNCTION takes the form of a series
of related vignettes featuring a deaf couple, Sue
(played by Paula Garfield) and Nigel (played by Daryl
Jackson) and their hearing niece, Kara (played by
Kate Furby) and her boyfriend, Dave (played by Simon
Whitehouse).
As
the title suggests it's a dysfunctional household.
Kara is a moody teenager, Sue spends far too much
time talking to her dead son and Nigel has a growing
obsession with feet...
It takes a moment to settle into the mixture of sign,
voice over and dialogue but as a hearing person who
doesn't know sign language I found this play accessible,
humorous and easy to follow.
The actors do a great job especially Garfield as the
uptight housewife and Jackson as the gentle foot obsessive.
The
set is fantastic. In the style of poor theatre almost
everything is made out of black and white cardboard.
Amazing "paintings" of animals decorate the walls
and superb three 3 cardboard ornaments sit upon the
mantelpiece. My favourite had to be the disjointed
table - reflecting the off kilter relationships within
the household.
Director
Steven Webb has definitely got the fundamentals of
a great play here but needs to think a little harder
about tone, at times the play is cartoonish and stylised,
at others it's trying to tackle the issue of a mother's
unresolved grief. The two styles can be mixed but
with great care.
Also, there is a lot of telling rather than showing.
I think the play would benefit from having shorter
(or no) interview scenes, instead let the relationships,
problems and grievances gradually reveal themselves
through the action.
I would also like to see the characters to go on more
of a journey. As it stands there is no resolution.
A quick way to resolve this would be to have the pill
scene at the end.
I look forward to the finished result from this highly
innovative theatre company.
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