Old St Paul’s Church Hall is the understated setting for this musical’s week-long run and there is no venue more appropriate for a show with no pretentions of grandeur. It is reminiscent of a school play, with primary aged children as young as four outnumbering the adults in an 18-strong cast.
Capelles Fringe Players’ production is much more than crowd control, however. This musical, performed simultaneously in sign language, is possibly unique at the Fringe. Alongside the intriguing plot concerning the Nazi occupation of Guernsey, home to the Players, this becomes a highly unusual piece of theatre. What is most fascinating is the fact that not one of the cast is deaf, making the signing quite an achievement: director Michelle Brady’s work with deaf children, some of whom often sing with the company, inspired the show.
The subject matter is equally close to the group’s hearts, many of them never having left their home island before. It’s unsurprisingly a family affair, with the majority of children acting alongside a parent. The premise is enchanting: a girl finds a diary written during the occupation and readings from it are interspersed with songs, all of them original, written by a local composer and members of the cast. Even the children wrote one. The music is often impressive and the performance is enthusiastic, if far from flawless, helped along by some excellent drumming by young John O’Brien and Craig Curzon’s keyboard playing.
The theatrical merits of the production are limited but there are some simple, clever images: the German tank created by a child hoisted onto shoulders; the children breaking through a Swastika flag to reveal that of Guernsey, symbolising their return; and some clever use of signing to add impact, such as the imposing two little finger-gesture that means ‘enemy’ being held at the end of a song. It often resembled choreography, which in a way (the cast learnt to sign specifically for the show) it was.
This is certainly not standard Fringe fare. Although it is in no way groundbreaking, it is a refreshing and interesting project.
