A physical and non-verbal storytelling show celebrating the transformative power of grief and parenthood.
Acclaimed Bristol-based theatre company Ad Infinitum will bring Last Rites to Bristol Old Vic from 15–19 July 2025. Combining striking physical storytelling with dynamic projection and a soundtrack that can be felt and heard, Last Rites is a non-verbal solo show told through a Deaf man’s perspective, exploring the poignant story of a complex relationship lost too soon.
Co-devised by Ad Infinitum's Co-Artistic Director George Mann and Scottish-Singaporean theatre maker and Deaf artist Ramesh Meyyappan, the show follows Arjun, who must travel from the UK to India to perform his father’s funeral rites. But how do you honour an ancient Hindu ritual that was never passed down? In life, his father refused to learn sign language. In death, Arjun must find a way to say goodbye.
Diving into memory sequences examining the impact of this language barrier on his own upbringing, Arjun also grapples with the challenge (and joy) of being a father himself. Shaped by Mann and Meyyappan’s lived experiences of losing their fathers, and of becoming fathers themselves, the show celebrates the transformative power of grief and parenthood.
Ramesh Meyyappan performs as intergenerational characters throughout the performance, supported by projection, bass-heavy sound design and physical storytelling to create a piece that integrates BSL with creative captions and is accessible to deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing audiences. This tender final ceremony weaves memory, identity, and unspoken truths into a rich tapestry of shared memories and a complex relationship cut short by death.
After the performance of Last Rites on Friday 18th July, Ramesh Meyyappan will be joined in a post-show discussion by Bristol theatremaker and Deaf artist David Ellington, who has also made a short film of the creation process behind Last Rites. The event will be in BSL and translated by BSL interpreters into spoken English.
Ad Infinitum is a Bristol-based acclaimed theatre company with international awards from countries including the UK, Spain, Netherlands and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They work with artists, activists and communities to create transformative theatre, revolutionise audiences and change the world.
Listings information
15 – 19 July 2025
Bristol Old Vic, King Street, Bristol, BS1 4ED
Tickets from £12 BOOK NOW
Further Information; Ad Infinitum