FUNNY, DARING, HOPEFUL, INSIGHTFUL
Theatreview
By Terry MacTavish, Mon, 17 Jun 2013
At school, in the fourth form, friend Jen'fer Esplin and I learned the alphabet of sign language so we could communicate in Assembly without the prefects catching us. It was frustratingly slow, spelling each word, but thrilling being part of a tiny secret tribe.
It's also the first in the Fortune's ''True Grit'' series. Directed by Lara Macgregor, the production brings together a bunch of very fine actors. Christopher, the explosive, egotistical father, is played by Paul Barrett.
Mother Beth, confused but conciliatory, is acted by Catherine Downes. Sarah Thomson takes on the part of Billy's sister Ruth, who has operatic aspirations, and brother Daniel, who depends on Billy in ways that only gradually become apparent, is played by Ben Van Lier.
Nathan Mudge, as Billy, and Sophie Hambleton, as girlfriend Sylvia who introduces him to the deaf world, have the hardest tasks of all, succeeding brilliantly in demanding roles involving fast-paced sign language and the speech of people who can't hear properly. Read more...
Signs and meanings
Otago Daily Times
By Charmian Smith on Thu, 6 Jun 2013
Tribes, each with their own rituals and ways of doing things, can be found in families, communities and groups with particular interests, says Fortune Theatre artistic director Lara Macgregor. Charmian Smith talks to her about Tribes, the theatre's upcoming production.
''Tribes is about all sorts of tribes, not only the family tribe, the tribe of the deaf community, the Jewish tribe - there's tribal reference all the way through the piece.
"It's been interesting to discover and highlight all those things,'' said Lara Macgregor, Fortune Theatre artistic director, about the theatre's upcoming play.
Tribes, by Nina Raine, opens in the Fortune Studio on June 15, the first in the new ''true grit'' series of plays which she plans to stage annually. Read more...
Review: Deafness brings family interaction into focus
Otago Daily Times
By Barbara Frame Mon, 17 Jun 2013
Discussions of deafness often focus on two almost mutually exclusive ''worlds'' - the hearing world, and the deaf world.
Tribes
Fortune Theatre Studio
Saturday, June 15
Billy's parents, not wanting him to be defined as ''handicapped,'' have brought him up to lip-read and be part of the hearing world.
Now an adult, he's the quiet one in a household where there is always blaring, crashing or shouting going on.
Tribes, by Nina Raine, is about many things: families and the delicate, mysterious, invisible mechanisms that make them tick; the tremendously complicated ways in which human beings understand, misunderstand and identify with one another; and the mistakes made by people with the best of intentions. Read more...
