Up ‘n’ Under is a classic comedy written by John Godber back in 1984, which won awards, was made into a film and is still frequently performed today. Fingersmiths is a physical theatre company which performs 20^th century plays with deaf and hearing actors, using British Sign Language and spoken word. This pairing is a perfect match as it is about triumph over adversity, camaraderie and ultimately, communication.

The play opens with Arthur and Reg, arch rivals in the amateur rugby world, making a bet that Arthur can train a no hope, bottom of the league pub rugby team, The Wheatsheaf Arms to beat Reg’s super, top of the league The Cobblers Arms. Arthur and Reg are played by hearing actors, Wayne Norman and William Elliott, who also seamlessly takes on the role of rugby commentator in the second half. Arthur learns that he has not only to train his team but also learn to communicate with them as they are all deaf. He doesn’t sign and when he first meets them, he does what possibly most hearing people would do – speaks very loudly! The team are made up of four deaf actors who use a mixture of speech and signing throughout the play. There is also a caption board which cleverly doubles as a score board and occasional voice overs. This blend of communication tools works well in that there are minimal ‘silent’ scenes for hearing audiences but sometimes it does seem like too many devices are being used. The locker room banter of the rugby team works especially well. Jokes about excessive drinking and body parts lend themselves to the wonderful physical expressiveness of the deaf actors. There is a fantastic Queen Victoria pose from Frank, played by Matty Gurney. The audience responded with much laughter.

The other character in the play is Hazel, warmly played by Tanya Vital, who helps Arthur and the team get in shape and ends up playing on the team. She also acts as narrator, binding the action together with Godber’s witty verse and is the voice of common sense. Most of the second half is about the actual game (both teams play – all done with two- sided rugby shirts!) and this involves clever choreography. The performance ends with unashamed dancing from the team and the small but very enthusiastic audience showed their appreciation.     ★★★★☆    Karin André    28^th February 2018