The Arrival was a funny, imaginative and welcoming show, inspired by the award-winning graphic novel by Shaun Tan. It is the story of a man who makes a journey to start life in a new country. He doesn’t speak the language; he can’t read the maps or signs. The play is about migration, but also feeling out of place, trying to find your way.
Why this book? It’s beautiful, timely, resonant – and tells its story entirely through images. This appealed to us at Solar Bear. We worked with a cast of deaf and hearing actors, in BSL and English, trying to find a shared visual, physical language, with music and puppetry, to bring the story to life. It felt a lot like journeying to a new place.
Press & reviews
Gallery
BSL information video
Cast
Creative team
Jonathan Lloyd Director
Janis Hart Designer
Niroshini Thambar Composer
Ramesh Meyyappan Movement Director
Andrew Wilson LX Designer
Connor Fergus Bryson Assistant Director
Rick Conte Puppetry Consultant
Amy Dawson Technical Stage Manager
Suzie Goldberg Stage Manager
Bee George Production Manager
Charlotte Powell Design Assistant
Tomas Palmer Design Assistant
Katy Smillie Sign Language Interpreter
Amy Cheskin Sign Language Interpreter
Jill Gallacher Sign Language Interpreter
The Arrival
By Shaun Tan
Adapted for the stage by Jonathan Lloyd based on The Arrival Copyright © 2006 (By Shaun Tan)
Additional material (Mariem’s story) by Mariem Omari.