And Suddenly I Disappear
The Singapore/UK ‘d’ monologues
5 September 2018 to 12 September 2018
And Suddenly I Disappear: The Singapore/UK ‘d’ monologues - touring England and Wales September 2018
“Victims, villains, metaphors, parodies, benefit scroungers or inspiration porn stars…. I was tired of the way disabled characters were portrayed and frustrated by the limited range of parts available for disabled and D/deaf actors, so decided to be the change I wanted to see and initiated The ‘d’ Monologues in 2009.” Kaite O’Reilly
And Suddenly I Disappear: The Singapore/UK ‘d’ monologues is the latest manifestation of the project – fictional monologues in multiple languages inspired by conversations and interviews with under-represented and overlooked disabled and D/deaf people in Singapore and across the UK.
Innovative in form, multilingual and intercultural in its nature, And Suddenly I Disappear: The Singapore/UK ‘d’ monologues is an international dialogue of what it is to be human from opposite sides of the world. A triumph after its World premiere in Singapore in May 2018, the performance comes to the UK for a limited number of performances, opening the Unlimited Festival at Southbank Centre 5-6 September 2018 and touring to Oxford, Leicester and Cardiff (further dates and venues, below).
The company consists of pioneering artists exploring new theatre languages and form, with the aesthetics of access – audio description, captioning, sign language – at the very heart of the work. Poignant, provocative, with passion and sly wit, stories of difference are told live and via video in unexpected ways, reveling in all the possibilities of human variety.
The show isn’t about access, it’s about the innovative use of theatre languages - mixing visual and spoken storytelling in dynamic form, interweaving English with some Mandarin, Cantonese, Welsh and British Sign language sequences. There’s no static sign language interpreter in the corner of the stage, but live and pre-recorded sequences that tell little-known stories physically and visually, with creative captioning throughout.
The outstanding cast includes Sophie Stone (currently at The Globe in ‘Emilia’), Garry Robson (currently at The National in ‘Titus Andronicus’), Deaf visual language director/performer Ramesh Meyyappan, Welsh disability icon Sara Beer, and introducing Macsen McKay. Singapore performers Peter Sau (National Best Actor award winner) and Grace Khoo perform live, joined by other disabled Singaporeans via film and video sequence. The monologues are written by award-winning playwright Kaite O’Reilly and directed by Phillip Zarrilli.
And Suddenly I Disappear: The Singapore/UK 'd' Monologues Trailer: https://vimeo.com/272958421
2018 TOUR DATES:
Southbank Centre's Purcell Room (London)
5 - 6 September 7.45pm [Unlimited Festival performances]
The Old Fire Station (Oxford)
8 September 7.30pm
Attenborough Arts Centre (Leicester)
9 September 7pm
Chapter arts centre (Cardiff)
11 - 12 September 8pm.
The 'd' Monologues Publication - a collection of Kaite O'Reilly's solo plays for atypical actors will be published by Oberon to coincide with the UK premiere.
Other links:
Kaite O'Reilly in conversation with British Council Singapore: https://vimeo.com/242969844
The Stage: Writer Kaite O’Reilly on The Singapore ‘d’ Monologues: ‘It’s like the Vagina Monologues for the deaf and disabled’ https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/2017/writer-kaite-oreilly-on-singapore-d-monologues/
And Suddenly I Disappear: The Singapore ‘d’ Monologues is commissioned and supported by Unlimited, with funding from Arts Council of Wales and British Council.
17/08/2018