SELF-RAISING at the Soho Theatre
★★★★★
“inclusive theatre at its finest, it is warm and funny as well as being shocking and moving”
Jenny Sealey bursts onto stage with frankness and with warmth in this one-woman autobiographical show.
Sealey is deaf, and much of the show explores her experiences growing up in a hearing world. Certainly, the crafting of the show, which uses on screen sur titles and weaves in Jeni Draper, Sealey’s ‘terp’ (on stage interpreter) is consciously, and beautifully inclusive. However, to view the play as purely about deafness would be to box it in, and ignore the poignant and gripping family drama which Sealey unfolds.
Sealey, along with co-writer Mike Kenny and director Lee Lyford create an on-stage world which feels comforting, honest and genuine. Some of this comes from Sealey herself, who is charismatic and witty. Everyone in the audience wants to be her friend. But there are also more technical elements. It is nothing new to see an on-stage interpreter, but the way she is used in this production feels fresh and unusual. She is introduced and included in the show, her role falling somewhere between interpreter and performer. This gives Sealey a support on stage which makes her not seem so alone. This adds to the kind and safe space and allows the audience to enjoy the darker moments of the story, without fearing for the wellbeing of the performer.
Something which also builds up this very special world is that the captioning and video design is by Jonah Sealey Braverman, Jenny Sealey’s son. He is very much a part of the story, and his voice appears in voiceover throughout the play. This laid much of the creative process bare, bringing the audience along the journey with the team, and this transparent nature makes Sealey and her story even more personable and engaging. She lets us behind the curtain, and treats us, too, like family.
The set is simple, three kitchen cupboards which light up, and a projector screen. The designer Anisha Fields and lighting designer Emma Chapman execute a playful vision, with the cupboards lighting up in bold different colours.
This is inclusive theatre at its finest, it is warm and funny as well as being shocking and moving. It never feels preachy or worthy and the audience is welcomed into Sealey’s tangled web of a family drama.
SELF-RAISING at the Soho Theatre
Reviewed on 8th February 2024
by Auriol Reddaway
Photography by Tiu Makkonen
Previously reviewed at this venue:
FLIP! | ★★★★ | November 2023
BOY PARTS | ★★★★ | October 2023
BROWN BOYS SWIM | ★★★½ | October 2023
STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY | ★★★★★ | September 2023
KATE | ★★★★★ | September 2023
EVE: ALL ABOUT HER | ★★★★★ | August 2023
STRING V SPITTA | ★★★★ | August 2023
BLOODY ELLE | ★★★★★ | July 2023
PETER SMITH’S DIANA | ★ | July 2023
BRITANICK | ★★★★★ | February 2023
LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT: A NIGHT AT THE MUSICALS | ★★★★ | January 2023
WELCOME HOME | ★★★★ | January 2023
SELF-RAISING
SELF-RAISING
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