Roe McDonnell
A folk tale of a Selkie, not half creature, half human, both. Simultaneously. And a human man who has somehow washed up onto a bar exclusively for creatures like the selkie gets kicked out of said bar and right into our selkie. What follows after is the story of Dregs. Inspired by the story of Scottish Folktales this incredibly D/deaf led innovative production mixes, British Sign Language, Visual Vernacular (VV- a storytelling method in BSL) and English simultaneously to an excellent level that every show can learn from.
We follow them through the Saturday Glaswegian night scene, into bars, dashing for the ‘zombie bus’ and making deals with the Fates in a bar where mysterious things occur. We are dragged into this magical real world featuring descriptions of characters you see every night in the corner of the bar with the hero’s quest of making it back to the water.
There is an obvious double meaning to this production that makes it all stand out even more. The struggles the Selkie goes through of not understanding the humans and desperately trying to translate, reflects the real challenges of being d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing in a very sound heavy world. Navigating a landscape where you will always need the help of a friend or a stranger if access isn’t provided. A beautiful moment occurs in the latter half of the performance with the first appearance of VV that makes us all understand for a moment. Where no spoken translation can be heard but the instant recognition through actions alone allows everyone to understand her. Sometimes for the first time.
Emery Hunter stuns as the Selkie. The passion she shows in the characterisation and fast signing style reminds me of the likes of Tinkerbell in the early 2000s movies, bringing sass, knowledge and a firm leg to stand on when it comes to her self esteem and her worth. Bobby Bradley’s Man is hilariously naive at the best of times is almost laughable, just guided to follow this creature through the night and his willingness to help out on the quest. His confidence throughout the show grows as we at points begin to see him sign. It would’ve been great to see more of that throughout but the English and Signing simultaneously conversation is one to have another time.
Please support d/Deaf and Disabled led theatre whilst at the fringe to keep this important vision of art alive!
You can catch Dregs on August 16th, 18th, 20th, 22nd & 24th at the Netherbow Theatre at Scottish Storytelling Centre from 13:30 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake Mace
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
