IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO CARE |
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) Words Apart Directed by Nicola Clements Devised by The Odd Socks Collective Odd Socks Productions at BATS, Wellington From 14 Feb 2009 to 18 Feb 2009 Reviewed by John Smythe, 16 Feb 2009 |
Clever title. That Ryan (Jared Flitcroft) is deaf and Jules (Ivana Palezevic) is hearing does seem to place them worlds apart and it's language that is the issue. Or that's how others see it, anyway. But when you're in love ...
As a play (devised), Words Apart is necessarily simple, if not simplistic, in the same way that conversation has to be when neither speaks the other's language fluently. Jules is learning to sign, in order to be a translator, and Ryan - who works as a waiter in his sister's café - is patient in accommodating her early attempts, so it's not a big problem for them. In fact it generates fun and brings them closer ... except when it doesn't. 'The path of true love never did run smooth.'
There are tracts of dialogue that are totally signed, e.g. between Ryan and his ball-sports mate Ben (Isaac Heron). Others are spoken between hearing characters, e.g. Jules and her brother Ty (Heron again); Ryan and his sister Mac (Sophia Scully Elisabeth), but most of the time simultaneous signing is validated, e.g. because Jules needs to practice. This way the deaf audience is not left behind, and the deaf and hearing alike get to experience moments of non-comprehension.
That both Jules and Ryan have lost their respective parents and are in the care of their older siblings - both of whom are intolerant of the emerging relationship - seems rather contrived to me. Perhaps if that shared unusual circumstance was a catalyst for bringing Jules and Ryan closer, it would earn its keep.
Ty's ignorant intolerance and his supposed protectiveness towards his sister, even to the point of violently attacking Ryan, is especially simplistic and hard to credit in principle, although his regret becomes a good pay-off moment. Mac's concern for Ryan's wellbeing within Jules' social circle is a little easier to believe, except it's patronising and we already know he is well able to look after himself in the hearing world.
But the play itself is a contrivance by which we each get to stop and consider how it is for the others, and in this it regard it works very well. Directed by Nicola Clements, the action flows well from scene to scene - 12 black boxes judiciously used - and the performers are relaxed and intentional, demanding we believe as strongly as they do.
Heron doubles impressively as Ben and Ty and Elisabeth brings a compelling presence to Mac. Pelzevic and Flitcroft are so tuned into their characters' emotional journeys, and their chemistry is so volatile, it is impossible not to care.
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See also reviews by:
Helen Sims (The Lumiere Reader);
Lynn Freeman (Capital Times);