Deaf Republic

Deaf Republic description

A gunshot in occupied territory. A deaf boy is killed for disobeying orders he couldn’t hear. The next day, the whole town wakes up deaf.

Adapted from the poems of Ukrainian-American author Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic is an epic modern fable of war, humanity and collective resistance.

World-renowned theatre company Dead Centre make their Royal Court debut, collaborating with Sign Language poet Zoë McWhinney. Told through a mix of spoken English, British Sign Language (BSL), creative captioning and silence, Deaf Republic brings together an ensemble of deaf and hearing actors, aerial performers, puppetry, live cinema and poetry.

‘A contemporary epic… captures the sweep of history and the devastation of war’ New York Times on Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic

‘A pure theatrical thrill-ride… wildly playful’ The Guardian on Chekhov’s First Play by Dead Centre

Deaf Republic is intended to be accessible for a range of deaf and hearing audiences, created by an integrated deaf and hearing ensemble.

All performances: Every performance will include a mixture of signed BSL, creative captioning and spoken English. For deaf audiences, all spoken content will either be signed in BSL or captioned in written English as part of the show’s design, enabling deaf audiences to follow the performance through a combination of signing and captions.

Assisted Performances:
Relaxed, 11 September, 7:30pm
Captioned, 12 September, 7:30pm
BSL Interpreted, 13 September, 1:30pm with an interpreted touch tour at 12pm
Audio Described, 13 September, 1:30pm with a touch tour at 12pm

Playing at Royal Court Theatre (venue info)