In a celebration of Deafness within the hearing world, Hope! tells the story of Thabo, a boy born Deaf and cast out by his community who believe he is bewitched. In his exile, Thabo is found by a tenacious and helpful Deaf girl who teaches him to communicate in sign language.Thabo is eventually reunited with his family and the community realizes that his deafness is not a bewitchment.
The play is acted in sign language by students from the Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind, and narrated for the hearing in English, isiXhosa and Sesotho. Report by Robyn Perros and Michelle Avenant.
Hope! finds its expression within the fusion of the hearing and the Deaf. The play is a celebration of Deafness within the hearing society.
It is a delightful, touching story of a young boy born Deaf, rejected by his parents in fear of societal embarrassment and declared bewitched by his own community.
This is modern storytelling in its purest form combining speech, movement and physicality. SOURCE.
