Deaf Republic

A gunshot. A deaf boy falls - because he did not follow orders he simply could never have heard. The next morning, the city wakes in silence. Now suddenly everyone is deaf. 

"Deaf people do not believe in silence. Silence is the invention of the hearing." With this credo, Irish theatre company Dead Centre brings deaf and hearing performers together in Deaf Republic. Spoken English flows into sign language, creative surtitles and a charged, almost tangible silence. Puppetry and circus amplify a world that is both alienating and familiar. 

Based on the poetry cycle by Ilya Kaminsky and created in collaboration with sign language poet Zoë McWhinney, Deaf Republic is a sensory, visually rich performance about occupation, resistance and the language that emerges when words fall short. Dead Centre returns to Noorderzon for the fourth time, on this occasion as the opening production at the Stadsschouwburg. 

Dead Centre was founded in Dublin in 2012 and today is led by Co-Artistic Directors Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd. They are known for playful, provocative work that plays with perception and reality. 

With productions such as Chekhov's First Play and Good Sex - both previously seen at Noorderzon - Moukarzel and Kidd weave together theatre, philosophy and history into accessible work. Their productions tour worldwide, from New York to Berlin. 

The Dublin-based company has by now become a fixture on the international theatre map and at Noorderzon alike. With Deaf Republic they return to Groningen with a production that carries heavy themes lightly - as only Dead Centre can.