The tour of Follow the Signs brings this stonkingly energetic and important show back to the stage at Soho Theatre.
Written and performed by accomplished Deaf dancer and choreographer Chris Fonseca and director and BSL interpreter Harry Jardine, it explores the intersection of race and Deafness against a musical backdrop of hip hop and house music.
The story is autobiographical but is not bogged down in linear detail. Instead, scenes revolve around milestone moments and experiences of the younger Fonseca. Unsupported at school, he was bullied for being black and deaf and, finding no safe space, separated himself away from the unsafe ones.
There is no self-pity here and neither is there from Raffie (Raphaella Julien), a mixed-race oral (speaking) Deaf young woman who is made to feel reproof for not being black enough, or deaf enough.
Bonded by a shared passion for dance, Fonseca and Julien share time, hit all the clubs and travel a journey of growth.
Some of the stories’ touchpoints will not be new to deaf audiences, but the obstacles to living in a world designed for the hearing should and do sting—parents having to pay for BSL classes to talk to their children, white women terps (interpreters) being provided to voice Fonseca’s words, sidelining his very identity.
In Follow the Signs, Jardine is a more credible terp for Fonseca; Fleur Angevine Rooth is Julien’s and both Rooth and Jardine step into the action to play small roles.
The upbeat score by Yacoub Didi sometimes belies the poignancy of the material, but the beat is unfailingly energising and infectious, all the more effecting when there is darkness and silence. Dance and articulate movement from Fonseca and Julien (choreography by Fonseca) alternate with creatively captioned text and colourful evocative video design by Rachel Sampley to deliver a story that needs to be shared.
Director Jardine and his co-writer could sharpen up the Playschool scenes, gig-theatre isn't the place to teach the uninitiated the BSL alphabet, and the time would be better spent facilitating Julien’s story, which is left hanging, towards closure.
A tenderly uplifting ending to the show is provided by Fonseca, who achieves a point of self-realisation that leaves him on an ellipsis; it segues appropriately into the audience joining in with some moves to that vibrant beat, an inclusive form of expression that requires no words.
After the run at London's Soho Theatre (ends 12 October), Follow the Signs finishes its tour at HOME Manchester on 5 to 9 November. All performances are in BSL, spoken English, rap and English captions.