The Singer

The Singer pairs a washed-up street performer with a talented deaf musician, building a friendship around music, equity, acceptance and the expectations of an ableist society. Jamie Rea’s Joe experiences music through his body, while Dylan Wood’s Andy is a failed musician looking for a way back in. The story eventually puts Joe centre stage, as he has always dreamed of being.

There are interesting ideas here, and some interesting music too, with KT Tunstall’s songs giving the show a strong musical foundation. The production also makes good use of BSL and captioning as part of the performance rather than simply as accessibility. But the show started late, which was disappointing, and it felt a little too long.

More awkwardly, some of the audience participation felt tokenistic and a little uncomfortable rather than genuinely necessary to the drama. The central friendship is engaging enough, and the final image has a clear emotional intention, but the piece does not quite maintain the tautness its premise suggests.

Interesting, with some good elements, but not without its problems.

The Singer by Dundee Rep Theatre, Solar Bear collaborating with Aberdeen Performing Arts. Credit Tommy Ga-ken Wan.