World’s first sign language musical perfect for families

Oliver in the Overworld tells the surreal picturesque tale of Freddie, a deaf boy who travels to The Overworld, The Land of Machinery.

His quest is to seek the mechanical parts needed to mend the memory of his best friend – Oliver the Grandfather Clock.

However, this is a musical with a difference: it’s the first musical with fully integrated sign language for families, and is suitable for both deaf and hearing audiences.

It is the brainchild of multi award-winning artistic director Kinny Gardner, who established The Krazy Kat Theatre Company in 1982 to introduce young people and grown ups alike to the delights of visual theatre.

Kinny said: “Our company brief really is to make this kind of production, it’s always a challenge, even more challenging than your average musical, but it’s all part of the fun. It means a lot more work goes on beforehand, but the integrated sign language gives us a lot more textures to play with.”

The production is based on what was originally just a segment in a 1970s TV series called Little Big Time. Speaking about the show Kinny said: “It scarred me for life, but I went straight out and bought the record, I’ve always wanted to recreate it since I was a kid.

“As a company we’ve got our own style but the set is deliberately dressed in black and white as a homage.”

The production will also feature hand crafted puppets, next to captivating song and dance to help illustrate Freddie’s madcap adventure.

Kinny, who has a British Empire Medal for services to arts and disability added: “Everyone at the company has a passion for communication, you have to.

“When you see children with different learning difficulties getting the same experience, that’s what we all talk about after each show.

“I live a life of privilege and I want to leave the audience with the best integrated sign language performance available, we leave gaps for the kids to look away and sign to each other.”