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Review: Horrible Histories – Dreadful Deaf, Bristol Old Vic
For many people, naming a famous deaf person is a bit like naming a famous Belgian. It’s not easy, and it’s something that Horrible Histories: Dreadful Deaf hopes to change.
This new show at Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio races through the centuries looking at both how deaf people were treated and stopping to focus on a few famous deaf people along the way.
It’s funny, sad, educational and illuminating, and performed simultaneously by the three actors on stage in spoken English and British Sign Language
is needed now More than ever
The production is by Deafinitely Theatre, the UK’s first deaf-launched and deaf-led professional theatre company.
This isn’t a show that is memorable for featuring sign language; it’s simply a memorable show, with its bilingual element completely natural.
The three actors – Fifi Garfield, Naomi Gray and Nadeem Islam – take it in turns to dress up as various characters through time, from Ancient Romans to Alexander Graham Bell.
(Did you know that Bell’s mother and wife were both deaf? He invented the telephone to help deaf people hear, and was also vociferously against sign language, wanting to teach deaf people to speak.)
It’s called Dreadful Deaf because throughout history, deaf people have been treated dreadfully.
In Ancient Greece, deaf people were not allowed to marry; in Ancient Egypt remedies to cure deafness included pouring goat’s urine in your ears; and in Ancient Rome, thousands of deaf babies were drowned.
A deaf boy informed Samuel Pepys of the Great Fire of London, astronomer John Goodricke became deaf in early childhood and made some hugely influential discoveries; and suffragette Kate Harvey was sent to prison after barricading herself inside her home and refusing to pay her taxes.
All of these stories and more – which also feature bare knuckle boxing, World War One and Queen Victoria – are skilfully woven together. History has never been more fun.
Horrible Histories: Dreadful Deaf is at the Bristol Old Vic until June 1. For tickets and more information, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/horrible-histories-live-on-stage
Read more: Review: Onwards & Upwards, Wardrobe Theatre
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