A great joy of theatre is allowing us to step into different worlds. Deafinitely Theatre is the first professional deaf-launched and led theatre company in the UK and its new production of Eloise Pennycott’s award-winning play, presents an intimate LGBTQ+ love story between deaf and hearing characters.
Between an artful blend of British Sign Language (BSL), live captions and the odd spoken word, a language barrier soon becomes a language of love between neighbours Katie and Alana, who quickly build a life for themselves following their first awkward meeting at a house party.
Through their mouthed words and awkward games of charades, it’s no wonder Alana, who is hearing, initially struggles to win the favour of the profoundly deaf Katie. It’s the unshakeable connection between the pair that leads Alana to learn BSL, and it’s endearing to watch the two go from stumbling through conversations to dancing through them.
The play continues in snapshots, practically peering through the windows as the pair grow from bounding young sweethearts to rooted family. Katie flourishes as a teacher in a primary school for deaf children, while Alana pursues journalism, more socially aware than ever, but never quite enough to take a hard stance against the ableism fuelling their colleagues’ stories. Through it all, the ups and downs of life never cease to lead them, eventually, back into each other’s arms, and it isn’t long before dreams of a set of keys meld into dreams of a baby to call their own.
But the NHS is crumbling, the school is under threat, and with a well-meaning partner who will never quite ‘get it’, Katie quickly feels like the only anchor in an increasingly untethered world. The second act sees any rosiness quickly wither as Katie faces discrimination on all fronts that only she feels able to see, and the play points to real legislation and institutions as being among the roots. Now pregnant, struggling, and feeling more misunderstood than ever, it isn’t long before her whole world falls apart. You’re left to wonder at what point it all went wrong. You quickly realise things have been wrong since before you set foot in the theatre.
The brilliance of Barrier(s) rests in its unwillingness to centre its hearing audiences – and it’s exhilarating. With the majority of the show in BSL, something as small as Alana answering a phone call feels unfamiliar and strange, and the live captions on the background screens keep no walls between the deaf and hearing audience members. Em Prendergast’s performance as Alana deserves particular praise as a deaf actor who convincingly played a hearing character.
Katie (Zoë McWhinney) presents far from a victim, and in many ways is better off for it. Cheeky, cynical, and prone to swinging wildly between evasiveness and explosion in conversation, she keeps her independence held tightly in her fist even as she remains at the centre of Alana’s universe. Alana’s fatal flaw lies in their inability to truly listen to Katie as a deaf person, despite idolising her as a partner. Together they play a pair both magnetically attracted and repelled, and it makes for electric viewing.
There is room for the writing to grow in Barrier(s), much of the play is told rather than shown, and an over-commitment to being technical sometimes results in moments that feel more lecture – or the writer’s personal rant – than real dialogue between two developed characters. Beyond that, Barrier(s) promises a production like no other – and an ending worth sitting in anticipation for.
Deafinitely Theatre’s production of Eloise Pennycott‘s Barrier(s) is at Home, Manchester from 6-8 November 2025. Age recommendation 14+ The play is also touring to The Rep, Birmingham, before ending its run at Camden People’s Theatre in November.
Read our interview with Zoë McWhinney