Love’s Labour’s Lost: Deafinitely Theatre: British Sign Language – Review
Love’s Labour’s Lost: Deafinitely Theatre: British Sign Language.
Tuesday 22nd May, 2.30pm.
I can safely say that of all the foreign language G2G productions so far, this was the one that I understood the most. I was completely captivated by it.
I spent the morning sunning myself in Hyde Park in the glorious sunshine and warmth that has appeared out of nowhere; catching us all off guard (I didn’t have any sun cream so as a result I’m a little bit pink today!) I haven’t read this play before so I thought I’d use that as an excuse to lounge about on the grass all morning eating cake and drinking lemonade!
I then made my way slowly (I was too hot to move fast) along to Southbank to start queuing up for the matinee show. Everywhere was busy; there were lots of tourists enjoying the weather. But through the crowds I could see many conversations going on in sign language. Indeed, when I got into the theatre there were conversations happening from one side of the globe to the other, and all around me hands were working frantically. I loved being able to see quickly how many ‘native speakers’ there were. And there were a lot of school groups too, more than I’ve seen yet. In fact the opening sequence of the production in which the courtiers fooled about at a party while Duke Ferdinand watched on from the balcony, refusing to join in, had to stall while they waited for the arrival of a large school group. The actors were improvising for at least ten minutes! I like that they waited… and that they gave us something to watch in the meantime!
As I said, I felt that I understood this play better than I had many of the others. And that’s especially impressive as this is one of Shakespeare’s wordiest plays, full of puns, innuendos and clever word play. Sign language seems so expressive and to involve facial expressions and the whole body as a part of its meaning. And because there is no sound, the spectators have to focus on all the clues given to them by the physicality. The acting was strong and convincing and moving at times. Backing up the silent language were musicians who played throughout the entire performance, providing a constant background for the action. The music was charming, with a folk feel from a violin and guitar, and worked really well to help set the mood.
There were some excellent performances from the cast. The Lords and Ferdinand created a clear physical and signed way of communicating their oath which was used throughout the performance and highlighted the absurdity of their promise to ban women from the court. I was especially impressed by Matthew Gurney as Berowne who was captivating to watch. There were times when I forgot that he was signing as it seemed so much a part, not just of the actor, but of the character as it was so worked into the way the character responded and reacted. The scene in which he overhears the Duke and the other Lords proclaim their love was incredibly well-staged and funny. Berowne’s love interest, Rosaline, was also brilliantly portrayed by Charly Arrowsmith who had some fantasticly funny facial expressions and did a lot of communicating and interacting with the audience.
The whole cast did very well to convey the comedy of the scenes; I genuinely found that I understood the jokes and there was also a lot of physical comedy, particularly from David Sands as Costard, who again used the signing as part of the character’s comedy.
The costumes were a little unconvincing, hinting at a late-Victorian setting but with a contemporary twist. I would have liked a bit more care and attention to be given to them as some were a bit distracting. Some could just have been simpler as I felt that there was enough going on visually that we didn’t need anything else to process. Don Armado’s Spanish get-up was great though!
Played by Adam Bassett, the silly Spaniard was a potential show-stealer providing an absolutely beautiful ending. He came forward to deliver his poem (which can often be incredibly cringe-worthy and tedious in modern productions) with complete sincerity and assertion. His signing was picked up and echoed by members of the company to create a dance-like motif. It felt as though the rhythms of the poem that would normally be heard in speech were driving the signing as it was so fluid and rhythmic. This was an excellent close to the show as it really highlighted just how poetic signing can be, it was truly beautiful.
As the cast took their bows I made a conscious decision to clap rather than hold my hands in the air as most deaf spectators tend to do. I had enjoyed this as a hearing person; I wanted to congratulate them in the same way.
clareeames 