Edinburgh Fringe 2024
The Ghost of Alexander Blackwood
Deaf Action
Genre: Drama, New Writing
Venue: Deaf Action
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
This is a tale that is both dramatic and enlightening , celebrating a man who was a true pioneer. Blackwood was an important figure in the campaign for deaf people to have equal access and opportunities. His legacy is felt today as the world’s first deaf-led organisation is still going strong today as Edinburgh’s Deaf Action. The play is also a celebration of Edinburgh’s outstanding role as a city that has influenced deaf culture around the world and is unique in the Fringe Festival as a deaf-led production performed in BSL with creative captioning for hearing people. It is part of Edinburgh Deaf Festival 2024.
Review
From a new commission, with the support of Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, writer Nadia Nadarajah, herself a deaf actor, has created an exploration of Alexander Blackwood – a founding father of education for deaf people – and an illustrated history of other deaf and hearing people he encountered who helped him with his vision.
Actor Connor Bryson captures a brooding and uncertain child (deafened by scarlet fever contracted aged 7) and man who grows in confidence as he advocates for himself and others in the community. A central tenet of Blackwood’s mission portrayed here is to promote communication with and communication between deaf people, recognising that without an understanding of written English and a shared deaf language that deaf people are isolated and impoverished. Crucially their lives can be endangered as in the Great Edinburgh Fire of 1824, which destroyed part of Old Town and lasted 5 days. This makes for a dramatic scene in the play enhanced by surround sound roaring flames and a simulation of approaching fire.
Although he was only 19 at this time Blackwood recognised that deaf people were not treated like other citizens and this drove him to become a deaf preacher, found a church and benevolent society and help pioneer deaf education. By the time he died in 1891 he left a lasting legacy which has been so important for the campaign for access and equality today. Throughout the play Bryson gives Blackwood a brooding, shadowy presence as the play shifts backwards and forward in time. A timeline of Blackwood’s life is on the venue’s wall – this is very helpful because although dates are captioned the plotting was confusing and would be helped by clearer physical characterisation, something for Bryson and director Benedetta Zanetti to develop.
Actor Amy Murray brings to life the other key people in Edinburgh’s deaf history – artist Walter Geikie, Robert Kinniburgh, the teacher/proprietor of the capital’s Deaf and Dumb Institute, Jean Campbell a deaf mute accused of murdering her baby, James Herriot deaf merchant and philanthropist. Murray was a delight and through precise physicality and simple changes of costume quickly sketched out these other players in the drama – and a delightful horse.
To aid the storytelling is a soundscape of heavy bass vibrating synths which can be heard by most deaf people and adds to the texture of the drama for hearing people. The company makes good use of the limitations of the venue (the Deaf Social Club); it would be great to see the show in a black box theatre with a larger screen for the captioning. Perhaps this can be an ambition for Fringe 2025, fingers crossed Deaf Action’s fundraising drive is as successful as their first foray into commissioning and production.
