ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review On The Sea, A Useful Ghost, Brunello: The Gracious Visionary, and Pinocchio Unstrung
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Sign language lessons
SIMON PARSONS sees a powerfully instructive show on the prejudices faced by the deaf
RON JACOBS enjoys a great tale, told by a US communist, of the lives of working-class New Yorkers
BRENT CUTLER searches a new history of contemporary Iran for an understanding of the Islamic Republic, finding both interesting detail and glaring omissions
MARIA DUARTE recommends the true story of the remarkable woman who sued Donald Trump for sexual assault not once, but twice
KENNY MacASKILL is disappointed by a polemical, rather than factual, account of the Lone Star State and its political path since the civil war
PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by the lives of Charles and Mary Bagot, and the insight this biography shines on the morals of pre-Victorian society
GORDON PARSONS appreciates fine performances and a feel for ambiguity, but misses the music of the dialogue
Extraordinary Wall of Silence
Bristol Old Vic/Touring
FOR many, sign language is a barely comprehensible series of hand gestures delivered on the sidelines of a main event, addressed to an invisible audience. With Ad Infinitum’s latest production, it takes centre stage.
Based on many hours of interviews with deaf people, the company tackles their shameful treatment throughout history with this dynamic piece of physical theatre.
Starting from the 1880 Milan Conference on educating the deaf, where a resolution was passed banning sign language in schools, three narrative threads are woven together to investigate the destructive ramifications of such a decision.
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