★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Laura Crow’s original play is a deaf elegy for the hearing world, a clever self-validating work, where the deaf lead character (and theatre-maker) dissects and rejects the ableism of ‘trying to fix’ deaf people. What makes it a subtle work of genius, is that it is all wrapped up in a satisfying and authentic 1920’s domestic drama; full of flapper girls, eccentric mothers, misogynistic patriarchy and a silent-era aesthetic.
Marigold Webb (Crow) is a deaf young woman with an all encompassing love of cataloguing bugs and creepy-crawlies, she is patronised by her mother, who forces her to ‘marry well’, to an utter pig of a man, Nicholas, who gaslights and belittles her at every turn. Marigold is smart, and surveys her world with the same eye as an entomologist, cataloguing the characters she meets. Through amazing production design, the hearing audience can get a sense of how Marigold hears others, static permeates the dialogue, and is cleverly turned on its head to give Marigold agency, rather than be a victim.
The attitudes of the 1920’s, where sign language was discouraged for fear of further isolating the deaf, must resonate for deaf people a century later, so much is still inaccessible, and deaf people are not thought of (where were the see-through masks during the pandemic?) – this is illustrated to great affect in the plot.
The play is a delight and rattles along nicely, coupled with great performances from Crow herself, Ben Hynes playing both the sweet male friend Thomas, and the bastard Nicholas, Samantha Vaughan is hilarious as the very silly Vaudevillian Mrs Meadows and glamorous as Bryony Varden the flapper girl in the library. And I assure you they are all great dancers. The soundtrack was inspired with remixed twenties hits.
Time and Again theatre company are very boutique, with Samatha Vaughan also doubling as director with Catherine Cowdrey; but the shared roles do not diminish but rather enhance the quality of this production. Laura Crow also designed the production as well as acting and writing; the absinthe green twenties aesthetic and projected animation teamed beautifully. Tim Cooper’s technical work allowed for all the elements to come together perfectly.
An excellent work of original theatre from a deaf practitioner shows that our communities have vital things to say, we look forward to Laura Chow and Time and Again’s next production.
Earwig Assembly Rooms – Front Room 14:10 (1hr) Aug 4-9, 11-27 £13-12 8+
