by Laura Kressly

Even if our relationships with our parents aren’t fraught, they’re often complicated. In the case of the unnamed character in this solo show, his father never accepted his deafness and refused to learn sign language. He rehashes and reckons with this resentment as he ritually washes his father’s body, but other memories show he and his father loved each other. Using movement, creative captioning and projections, the production dives deep into the emotional landscape of a parent’s death to immensely moving effect.

Ramesh Meyyappan plays the protagonist at varying ages throughout his life, from young childhood to the present. He also depicts the father, both alive and laid out before his funeral. There are few props; the majority of the story unfolds through movement and gesture. Sign language is accompanied by captioning that incorporates images and animation that further enhance the varying emotional landscape. Yet, much of the physical vocabulary employed is recognisable to all. As per the company’s reputation, the craft Meyyappan shares is sculptural and precise, but never mechanical nor hollow. Neither does it ever feel small – this is a persistent challenge in solo performances and the creative team do well to resist falling into this trap.

There’s a melancholy weight to the piece, but this does not slow it down. Individual memories and interactions are brief so as a whole, the piece is a patchwork of flickering recollections interspersing intimate depictions of complex grief. The cyclical dramaturgy is exquisitely balanced and perfectly paced. The projections enrich the visual field, but the themes on show are not stifled by them. Instead, all of the production elements work together to capture the shared experience of familial loss.

Last Rites tours through 4 February.

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