Acclaimed Welsh theatre company Mr & Mrs Clark present their critically praised production Louder is Not Always Clearer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year.
An honest and funny portrayal of the vulnerability of a man perceived to be full of confidence and outwardly sociable, Louder is Not Always Clearer introduces us to Jonny.
Jonny is a teacher, an artist and an avid football fan. He has just become a father and loves music. He was born deaf to hearing parents.
This one-man show is performed by Jonny Cotsen and based on his own life, where ‘deaf’ was not a term used in the Cotsen household while he was growing up.
Through a moving, passionate multi-media performance Jonny shares his story, in a bold and moving expose of life for one deaf man in a hearing world.
Co-written and devised by Jonny Cotsen and Gareth Clark of theatre company Mr & Mrs Clark (Smash it Up) Louder is Not Always Clearer is a story of disconnection, difference and desperation to belong.
For hearing audiences, the production connects as an illuminating and emotional experience. For deaf audience members, the show is a familiar tale of misunderstanding and isolation. For everyone it is a humorous and moving story of one man’s life.
Louder is Not Always Clearer is a fully accessible performance to deaf and hard of hearing audiences with the use of captioning and BSL translation.
Meet Jonny; teacher, father, artist. He loves music, festivals and nightclubs. He longs to sing.
Jonny is deaf. He was born deaf to hearing parents who were afraid that disability would stigmatise their son. Jonny underwent speech therapy and learned to lip read. He did not identify as ‘deaf’ until much later in life, always feeling disconnected from his disability but also disconnected from the world around him.
Mr & Mrs Clark make theatre shows based on the stories and happenings that surround them. They take personal stories that have a global theme and use a variety of movement, music and physical challenges to create a montage of images. The company have made work for small theatre and non-theatre spaces creating an opportunity for the audience to feel connected and present in the work. The Clarks were shortlisted for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award in 2015 for the show Smash It Up.
Actor and teacher Jonny Cotsen runs the deaf club at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. He runs theatre workshops with young people of all abilities and shares his practice with local deaf groups.
Louder is Not Always Clearer is part of the This is Wales – Edinburgh showcase, an 11-show programme working across theatre, dance and circus with a unique Welsh quality that resonates globally. The programme is presented by Arts Council of Wales and its in-house international agency, Wales Arts International, working with partners British Council Wales, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.
Arts Council of Wales is also working in collaboration with climate change charity Size of Wales to help mitigate the programme’s carbon footprint.
Part of the British Council Edinburgh Showcase 2019
Performed by Jonny Cotsen
Performances:
31 July – 25 August 2019 (not 7, 12, 19 August)
Summerhall Techcube