Returning after a successful 2022 run, Follow The Signs is a BSL-led, hip-hop gig show that tells the story of Chris Fonseca, a Black Deaf man who lost his hearing after contracting meningitis at 2 years old.
Fonseca co-writes the show with his (white) interpreter and director, Henry Jardine. There is a clear trust and camaraderie between these “brothers from another mother.”
They are co-artistic directors at Fuse Theatre, while Jardine also founded A Night in Sign, which celebrates Deaf artists through BSL-led cabaret events at various UK venues.
Both appear on stage throughout, with Raphaella Julien, a mixed race Deaf actor, also playing herself, and Fleur Angevine Rooth, founder of Zoo Co Theatre, acting as DJ and various additional characters.
Follow The Signs is completely accessible to all audiences. Fonseca communicates in BSL, his voice provided by Jardine. There are captions on a large screen throughout, and Julien, as an oral Deaf person, occasionally speaks but is mainly voiced by Rooth.
Although this show tackles issues of racism and audism in a discriminatory world, it is not a downbeat experience. It is a thoughtful piece to celebrate difference while offering uncomfortable truths to hearing viewers.
Chris is shown as a child being given speech therapy at ‘clown achool’ by a patronising teacher who fails to understand the complexities of his deafness. Even a doctor promotes cochlear implants as a ‘cure for deafness’ (it isn’t) and states ‘no one uses signing anymore’ (BSL is used by more than 150,000 people).
Outside of the story, dance and music are important, with Rooth’s decks and Chris and Raphaella’s enthusiasm for clubbing a major element of the show. This offers a joyous celebration of sound and engagement, which reaches across any boundaries.
This is a show that soars above any pre-conceptions while ensuring personal stories are told. Chris, bullied at school for both his race and disability. Raphaella, as a Deaf woman who can both speak and sign, a biracial woman who may not be Black enough for a ‘Black Deaf’ group on social media.
Fonseca is an extremely likeable performer, playful, open, and optimistic. There is a definite sense of a mutual support network between him, Jardine, and Julien, although the point is clearly made about BSL interpreters rarely matching up in race, or even gender, for those they represent.
Follow The Signs will make you pause, laugh, and join in. The digital programme contains the BSL alphabet and gives details of how to learn the language. Yacoub Didi composes the pulsing music.
An excellent show on diversity, discrimination, and difference.
Follow The Signs is at the Soho Theatre until 12 Oct 2024 with details here.
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Image credit: Charlie Swinbourne