Ramesh Meyyappan’s critically-acclaimed production, Love Beyond, will grace the stage at the Lemon Tree next month.
This poetic and emotional portrayal of the challenges faced by the deaf community and those living with dementia recently captivated audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe, earning the Leading Light award for Best Scottish Production at The Scottish Theatre Awards On the Fringe 2024.
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The show is scheduled to visit Aberdeen on Thursday, September 5, and Friday, September 6.Love Beyond defies the conventions of a typical love story.
It centers on Harry, a sign language user grappling with a form of dementia that causes hallucinations. Following the death of his wife years prior, Harry is placed in hospice care by social workers.
As he transitions into his new home, he is haunted by memories. Past events become vividly present, and a “visit” from his deceased wife reignites their love, allowing him to imagine they are young and together once more.
Though his carer offers some comfort, as she begins to learn Harry’s sign language, he starts to forget it, leaving him in a unique world where he must confront the only thing that remains—himself.
Ben Torrie, Aberdeen Performing Arts Director of Programming and Creative Projects, said: “This wonderful production offers a unique perspective and insight for hearing and deaf audience members alike, bringing together themes of shared human experience as well as some of the greater challenges faced by the deaf community. Emotive, creative, and deeply moving, we are proud to be co-producing Love Beyond in association with Raw Material-Vanishing Point and presenting it at the Lemon Tree this September.”
Ramesh Meyyappan said: “For audiences to develop empathy, they have to feel the frustration often felt when what is communicated is misunderstood or not understood at all.
“Many of us deaf face the challenge every day of making our language seem less foreign to others. Harry has faced that challenge his whole life, and now his own language becomes foreign to him as his sign frame begins to diminish as the dementia takes hold.”
Featuring a cast of both hearing and deaf actors, the award-winning Love Beyond played to sold-out houses at its premiere during the 2023 Manipulate Festival and continues to resonate with audiences.
As part of the Made in Scotland showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe, the original cast of Love Beyond—featuring Ramesh Meyyappan as Old Harry, Rinkoo Barpaga as Young Harry, Elicia Daly as the nurse, and Amy Kennedy as Elise—reunites for performances directed by Matthew Lenton, the Artistic Director of Vanishing Point. This production is a collaboration between Raw Material and Vanishing Point, in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts.
Tickets are currently available for purchase through the Aberdeen Performing Arts website, by calling (01224) 641122, or by visiting the box office at His Majesty’s Theatre or the Music Hall.
