“It really feels like… finally!” says Yana Wuytjens, a non-hearing actor in [seagull], a new Belgian adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull for Deaf and hearing audiences. The production integrates Flemish Sign Language, or FSL, into the performances – like spoken language, Sign Language also has regional variants.
“This hasn’t happened before,” she continues, speaking through an FSL interpreter. “Certainly it was never done professionally on this level, and now we can show it’s possible. Finally, [FSL users] can follow a production without having to watch the interpreter. It’s a play in their language, and we are very happy with that.”
[seagull] is one of two major plays at this year’s Edinburgh Festivals making sign language work for Deaf and hearing audiences. The other is The Singer, based on the short film by Deaf artist Jamie Rea and hearing director Cora Bissett, who directs the play. Rea plays Joe, who sings with his hands, and whose music inspires washed-up musician Andy (Dylan Wood) to consider a comeback. KT Tunstall has composed the songs.
“I hope our performance will give audiences, directors, producers and casting directors insight into the beauty of [British] Sign Language and how it can enhance all [of] our experiences across Scottish stages,” writes Rea in email response. “BSL is full of lyrical poetry and visual language. Actors who use BSL have often been sidelined across genres, so I really hope this story will give them a new perspective and offer exciting inspiration for future casting.”
In [seagull], meanwhile, the Olympique Dramatique company, residents at Antwerp’s Toneelhuis venue, have transformed Chekhov’s play about feuding generations of a theatrical family into a deeper exploration of language and communication.
“We made this play in the theatre school when we were youngsters,” says [seagull]’s (hearing) director Stijn Van Opstal. “We fell in love with it, but looking back we were really young. When we were 18 we played all the old people, now we are becoming the old people, so the idea of revisiting it was something very dear.”
A collective which grew out of theatre school in the late 1990s, Olympique Dramatique’s specialism is updating repertory works in new and exciting forms. “Repertoire lends itself to these kinds of meetings,” says Van Opstal. “You take an old play and you look at it from a different point of view.”
Van Opstal had a very personal reason for instigating this production. As a child, Van Opstal’s father ran an institution for people with disabilities, and he grew up there “amongst these beautiful, unique people”. He was close friends with a boy who was Deaf, and they communicated through the language of play.
“We grew apart,” says Van Opstal. “Then ten years ago he passed away, and I realised I missed our conversations in silence. Of course it’s not silence though, and I wanted to be there, I wanted to learn sign language. With this play, the journey has become much bigger than my personal goal.
“The Seagull is about generations of a family trying to reach each other,” he continues. “The youngsters are making a play and looking for a new worldview, they want to express themselves in new forms, but the elder generation is offended by this, doesn’t understand it. These people really try with their heart to understand, but they never quite reach each other. It’s the perfect habitat to make an encounter with these non-professional deaf artists [in] this play.”
Wuytjens, who plays the thoughtful but maternally browbeaten son Konstantin, is a student and non-professional actor who saw Toneelhuis’s call for Deaf actors. “I’ve always wanted to be part of a play, wanted to act, but there wasn’t much on offer for deaf or hard of hearing people before [seagull],” she says. “Then I saw the call and I thought, this is my chance!”
The Singer’s Rea, meanwhile, has always wanted to perform since he was at Jordanstown School in Northern Ireland. “I would watch the school performances in its theatre,” he says. “That sparked my desire to be on stage, and I’ve grabbed every chance to perform since then, whether going on stage to model, performing as a drag queen, signing songs or hosting Deaf LGBTQ+ events like Deafab in Belfast and Greenbow in Dublin. I’ve always had a performer’s spirit.”
Bissett met Rea when she saw him perform at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and together they created The Singer, later reimagining it for the theatre. “Telling a Deaf story through the medium of a play with songs is about the passion of doing what you love, without limitation,” says Rea. “This world isn’t built for Deaf people, [but] expressing music in our language means this story plants the seeds of how Deaf artists can express music like everybody else, but in uniquely creative ways. This production process has embedded best practice for accessibility from day one, and we continue to make improvements every day.”
This isn’t just about Rea, but also the other Deaf and hard of hearing professionals involved, both backstage and onstage, as well as the team of BSL interpreters who keep everything running smoothly. What does he hope this production brings for Deaf and hearing audiences alike?
“I hope Deaf audiences will be proud to celebrate BSL with us in every show,” says Rea. “This is a big production and a huge moment for Deaf communities and artists in Scotland, providing visibility that’s unmatched in the history of the Scottish theatre industry.
“For hearing audience members, I want them not to be afraid to approach Deaf people. I hope they see Joe and Andy, who have tried to build communication that works for them, and feel encouraged to communicate better with Deaf people.”
[seagull], Studio Theatre, 7-11 Aug, various times
The Singer, Traverse, 4-30 Aug (not 5, 6, 7 or Mondays), various times