There was a time when the best that non-hearing members of an audience could expect from a show was captioning or a BSL interpreter standing like an afterthought at the side of the stage. Fortunately, we’ve come a long way in recent years, thanks largely to the efforts of companies such as Graeae in giving disabled performers equality on the mainstream stage. That movement takes another significant step forwards with this production from Ramps on the Moon, a consortium of six major producing theatres open to casting disabled and non-disabled performers alike.
If Roxana Silbert’s frenetic, off-the-wall production of Gogol’s satire is anything to go by, the venture ought to be a resounding success. Put simply, it embraces an aesthetic whereby interpretation for the deaf or partially sighted is not an adjunct to the action but a positive enhancement of it. It’s a point not often made that British Sign Language can be hilarious, whether you understand it or not. And Ti Green’s set, which contains the farce within the lobby of a pompous, pre-Soviet hotel, solves the access issue with a working lift, complete with muzak and soothing floor announcements.
One of the core principles of Ramps on the Moon is to assemble large casts. This one is huge – and a particular delight is the cat-fight between Kiruna Stamell and Francesca Mills as the mayor’s wife and daughter, who are eager to give the Inspector a very special welcome. Robin Morrissey, as the man mistaken for a government official, wears an expression that suggests he can scarcely believe his luck.
• At West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, until 30 April. Box office: 0113-213 7700.
