A physical and non-verbal storytelling performance of grief and parenthood is set to come to the Lowry this February.
The show, Last Rites, will present a story through Deaf man’s perspective and will explore a complex relationship cut short.
The performance that will take place at the Lowry on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 February, with audiences being entertained by physical storytelling.
The story will also be conveyed through sense with a dynamic projection and a soundtrack that can be felt and heard.
The performance has been co-devised by Scottish-Singaporean theatre maker and Deaf artist Ramesh Meyyappan and Co-Artistic Director of Ad Infinitum George Mann.
A Glasgow-based Singaporean, Ramesh Meyyappan is a theatre maker and Deaf artist who develops performances using an eclectic mix of visual and physical theatre styles.
Over the years, his solo performances and collaborations have toured nationally and internationally (over 20 countries) to much critical acclaim.
Ramesh continually seeks to develop and extend his theatrical visual vocabulary, for example incorporating circus techniques, bouffon, puppetry and illusion within his work.
And throughout the show, audiences will be able to see the works through the story of Arjun.
In the performance the character travels from the UK to India to perform his father’s funeral rights. But Arjun is left with the question of how can he perform an ancient Hindu practice that was never passed on?
In life, his father refused to learn sign language, but in death Arjun needs to find a way to say goodbye.
Throughout the performance of Last Rites, guests will examine the impact of this decision on his own upbringing.
Whilst also being shown the challenges that he has of being a dad himself – the show was created by the Meyyappan and Mann’s recollection of losing their fathers.
The pair have used their own life experiences in the show, celebrating the transformative power of grief and parenthood.
In the performance Ramesh Meyyappan plays intergenerational characters throughout, and is supported by projection, bass-heavy sound design and physical storytelling.
This intimate, final ceremony brings to life a rich tapestry of shared memories and a complex relationship cut short by death.
Ahead of the performance Co-creators Ramesh Meyyappan and George Mann said, “We are delighted this piece will tour nationally to mid-scale venues, where historically underrepresented perspectives like those of our protagonist, Arjun, haven’t been given much stage time.
“When we began the creative process for what was to become Last Rites, we discovered that we shared so much – complex relationships with our fathers, losing them around the same time, then becoming Dads ourselves.”
Through the performance they have aimed to explore their own experiences to create a space for audiences to think and share their own stories.
They continued: “We found ourselves creating a play that’s a universal human story, but through a Deaf perspective.
“The experience of losing a parent and becoming one is hard to describe.”
The experience will also include some BSL with creative captions – with an interpreter working alongside the Front of House team at each performance of Last Rites.
Last Rites comes to Lowry, Salford from Tuesday 18 – Wednesday 19 February 2025 with those looking for tickets being able to find them here.
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