Written by Ramesh Meyyappan

Directed by Matthew Lenton 

Produced by Raw Material & Vanishing Point in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts

Review by Marina Funcasta

Assembly George Square: Tickets

Touring Dates & Tickets

Misunderstandings are so common that the fragility of language has inspired countless artworks. To precisely locate this communicative failure, however, a relationship between a deaf patient, who also has dementia, and his carer is unusual to witness on stage. The fear of being old, misunderstood, dependent on a stranger, and having memory evade you is enough to make any audience member hesitate at the door. And, in all honesty, Ramesh Meyyappan’s work doesn’t shy away from the misery; yet, herein is what makes his production so special.

At its core, Love Beyond is a story about heartbreak and grief. Delicately portraying what remains when everything seems lost, Meyyappan’s tragic performance achieves heights of Shakespearean proportions. The trope of an older man ‘going bedlam’ has been around for centuries, and even so, it is performed largely in silence, and it ceases to surprise in its poignancy.

The set was particularly useful in this. Designed by Becky Minto, her frequent reliance on mirrors to create a sense of space and time married simplicity with dynamism. Cleverly constructed, the material is at once reflective and translucent, depending on the light, designed by Simon Wilkinson. This allowed an ‘imaginary’ space to exist through the looking glass, meriting an almost Wonderland-like effect. There were points where these effects created a dreamscape, projecting snippets from Meyappan’s characters’ past through rose-tinted glasses; there are other moments, however, where the ‘tint’ breaks down, and the light and sound design transform the atmosphere from nostalgic to deeply unsettling. Moving me to tears, the potency of the music, immaculately designed and timed by David Paul Jones, in the act of storytelling ought not to be understated.

Incorporating BSL and visual language, as well as oral dialogue, it is to be expected that more narrative is shown rather than instructed. It is precisely this, however, which provides the inventive space as hitherto emphasised. What it also does, more importantly, is that it brings into question where the magic of theatre lies: is it in the sound, the lighting, and the quality of the story? If so, how is quality quantified? This show would lead me to believe that theatre is such a multifaceted medium it cannot be hammered down into one thing: expansive and resourceful, Love Beyond protects and exposes its heart within and throughout multiple semiotic layers, displaying a deftness not many Fringe shows can pride themselves with.

---