Obstacles Review – A tender but difficult account of an odd couple’s connection | stage

forArrier(s) is a strange love story about a couple with very different experiences of the world. Alana (Em Prendergast) is hearing, while Katie (Zoë McWhinney) is deaf. Created by Deafinitely Theatre, which blends British Sign Language and spoken English, the play moves from the initial awkwardness of their first meeting at a children’s party, through Alana’s early mistakes, to a big, heartfelt portrait of the highs and lows of their relationship.

Eloise Pennycott’s script unfolds episodically: one year, Alana struggles with the basics of BSL; The next day, the couple easily signs for each other. From the beginning, electricity runs between them, best seen in the quiet action sections directed by Ravi Julian. McWhinney and Prendergast build Katie and Alana’s relationship into one of tenderness and care. Every look is charged with connection between them, and there’s a lot of laughter between them, too.

The play, presented by the company’s artistic director, Paula Garfield, has a saccharine storybook quality at the beginning: sketches appear across the back wall to mark the setting of each scene. Together the couple celebrates their anniversary and dreams of their future: even when they argue, it won’t be long before they are back in each other’s arms.

Beneath this romanticism is the reality of a broken and unjust system. Even while pregnant, it takes Katie weeks to get a doctor’s appointment with a BSL interpreter, and the school for deaf children where she works is constantly under threat of closure. Marie Zschumler’s sound design swells with anger in moments of tension and the sense of injustice is stark.

The ending breaks with everything that came before as the script is literally torn apart and the duo launches into a celebration of deaf culture. It’s a relief, but the fourth-wall-breaking twist feels all too familiar. It’s frustrating that this leaves the main story hanging, and with so much life thrown at Alana and Katie, we’re eager to say goodbye to them properly. However, it’s certainly important and very important stuff from a company that continues to educate and entertain.