This drama opens with a lilting evocation of summer: a back-screen bursting with pink blossom, the twitter of birdsong and a reading of the Shakespeare sonnet: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” This lyricism remains throughout but The Promise turns into a quietly devastating, and autumnal, story of dementia, death and family miscommunication.
Created by Deafinitely Theatre, and primarily told through British Sign Language, it is the story of a mother, Rita (Anna Seymour) and son, Jake (James Boyle), who have become estranged. He is gay, his disapproving father (Louis Neethling) has died, and he feels enduringly let down by Rita because she promised to come to his wedding in Amsterdam but never showed up. The story begins as they meet after what seems like a long absence, and Rita, now retired, shows clear signs of dementia.
Written by Paula Garfield and Melissa Mostyn, it weaves the present with fleet, fluid flashbacks. Directed by Garfield, there is meditative pace which hypnotises us at its best but some of the emphatically repeated scenes, reflecting the mother’s confusions, become laboured. Its bigger issues around homophobia and dementia care for the D/deaf are blended in well on the whole (Erin Hutching plays a particularly clueless social worker along with other parts).
The highlight is its combination of ambient music (by Marie Zschommler), visually arresting video projections (by Ben Glover and associate Douglas Baker) and evocative lighting (by Holly Ellis). These effects create a depth of feeling, and plaintive power, which is slightly lacking in the story itself. Characters are touching but seem oversimplified. The plot hinges on Rita’s absence from Jake’s wedding, and her illness is clearly the reason for it, though the penny never drops for Jake, even when Rita, in her confused state, shows surprise when he mentions he has a husband. Their lack of communication becomes a function of the plot, over anything more psychologically resonant.
It leads to an unforgivingly sad end, with the mother-son tragedy feeling oddly underexplored. The drama is buoyed by delicately expressive performances nonetheless and beautifully crafted effects.
• At Birmingham Rep until 13 April and then on tour to Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne, Home, Manchester and the Lyric Hammersmith, London
• This article was amended on 10 April 2024 because an earlier version credited Douglas Baker for the video projections. In fact Ben Glover should have been credited along with his associate Douglas Baker.
