A sign song workshop in Walsall with DAD to celebrate the performance of Graeae’s “Signs of a Star Shaped Diva” at the Birmingham Rep Theatre with the excellent Caroline Parker who plays Sue Graves, Sue is an undertaker, running the family business started by her great gran, Mabel, who turned to the dead when her heart was broken. Quiet, single and heading reasonably contentedly towards middle age, Sue finds romance when she meets Lawrence Stone. It is love at first sight for the couple whose conjoined names are “the Grave-Stones”. But Sue, who is deaf, has a secret. By night, the unassuming Sue becomes the glamorous Tammy Frascati, who performs the hits of our greatest divas using British Sign Language in a local night club where she has become a cult hit. (from Guardian) Jayne Fletcher and Angela Twigg successfully brought the fun, mischief and quandaries about the use of BSL in “signs of a star shaped diva” to DAD which I think stands for deaf adult drama, who are a group which meets every Thursday at Walsall deaf people’s centre. I participated in a sign song workshop which began by learning the verses in British sign language (BSL) of Snow patrol’s “Open your eyes” Jayne and Angela made everyone warmly welcome, it was great fun learning the signs and finding out to different signs for “cuts” and which ones, were more dramatic, and fitted Snow patrol’s melancholy intention.The small group I was part of laughed that “cuts” should be more like an action of chopping vegetables, if it was BSL, but it would not go with the snow patrol line “I won’t feel these slices and cuts” which clearly relates to self harm and depression. It is interpretation in this workshop, which sparks creativity and debate. In the second half each group interprets a song from the show “signs of a star shaped Diva” it’s Dolly Parton’s “here you come again” From four groups we see vivid and expressive interpretations. First, compulsive eating around a synchronised dance theme. Second, speed dating that results in a catfight between two male actors playing the part of women. Third, how to get the attention of your man during match of the Day, leading to compromise and everyone watching Gary Lineker. It’s terrific to see how much can be done in a small space of time, and the workshop success is clearly the result of all the hard work by the participants and the artistic director of DAD Lorraine Frost.
You can find out a lot more about Jayne Fletcher and Angela Twigg at the Words, Signs and Vibes Website and catch their show with InteGreat show at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre at 5.30pm and 8.00pm on the 10th July 2010, it’s part of the Deaf Cultural Centres Creative Hands Festival.
