Caroline Parker MBE.
CAROLINE Parker MBE, acclaimed TV and stage deaf actor comes to An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny, next week with her one woman show Signs of a Diva.
Delighting audiences throughout the UK with Parker’s ‘hysterical touches’ the play will be accessible to all audiences via captioned text, signed songs and audio description.
Signs of a Diva tells the story of mousey old Sue, who runs a funeral parlour in a little market town. No-one guesses she’s a Diva fanatic, in love with the songs of Whitney Houston, Dusty Springfield, Billie Holiday and Gloria Gaynor – not until she’s asked to sign the songs at a funeral. Inspired by her performance at the funeral, nightclub owner Harry invites her to take to the stage with a cabaret slot.
Putting together her favourite singer and her favourite wine, she adopts the stage name of Tammy Frascati, dons her false eyelashes, and starts a journey from funeral parlour to stardom, and possibly romance.
Caroline Parker gives a poignant and hilarious performance in this evening of Diva hits. The show is directed by Jenny Sealy MBE, whose other credits include being joint Artistic Director of the Paralympics Opening Ceremony. The play is produced by Graeae Theatre Company, a force for change in world-class theatre, breaking down barriers and challenging preconceptions.
Pádraig Naughton of Arts & Disability Ireland said: “I’ve always dreamed of seeing internationally acclaimed work by artists with disabilities in theatres and arts centres throughout Ireland. This tour of ‘Signs of a Diva’ is the start of Arts & Disability Ireland’s regular presentation of high quality innovative performing arts to audiences nationally.”
Caroline will also be presenting a workshop on signed song the day before the performance which will be of interest to anyone wanting to brush up on their signing skills.
These fun workshops are for sign language users who want to be more creative with language and develop skills to present songs. You will learn how to express emotion, character and the variations you can choose in translations. Physical storytelling skills are developed which can also be used outside sign songs. Signs of a Diva is presented by Arts and Disability Ireland with support from The Arts Council, the British Council and the Xilinx Inc. Corporate Community Engagement fund.
The show will be at An Grianan, Letterkenny on Thursday, February 20, as part of its tour of Ireland this month. For further information call An Grianán’s box office on 074 912 0777 or see www.angrianan.com.