I CAUGHT up with Shaun Blaney before his Dandelion production of 'Deaf as a Post' opens at the Féile in the Culturlann in August.

Shaun is better known for his acting career and for his depiction of Gerry Conlon in the Aisling Award winning production of ‘In the name of the Son’, but his original love is writing and his desire to share with an audience what it’s like to be partly deaf has inspired him to write a 75 minute play. But it’s not written around a kitchen table, it is set in a dystopian London where a viral ear-worm turns victims into opinionated zombie ‘Loopers’. One reluctant Irish soldier named Goody cunningly uses his hearing loss to survive. But there’s more to listening than hearing.

Blaney stepped directly into acting after graduating from Queen’s in 2008, with no job security, few prospects but a desire to act and put 100 per cent behind making it happen. Which he has done with the support of the inclusive Belfast artistic community. The play has been in development for some time and with a big push for identity plays his first series of rehearsed reading in London’s Baron's Court Theatre, a bunker-like space suited the immersive experience.

Reviews were positive: “Slyly funny… deals with issues of hearing and deafness with a brilliantly thought-out soundscape to match” –  Adam Stevenson, the Reviews Hub, London. 

The play is a powerful call to really 'listen' in a world overwhelmed by noise. A slyly funny, deeply absurd, exploration of hearing loss; it’s 'Black Mirror', meets 'A Quiet Place', by way of 'Call of Duty Zombies’! 

“If you’ve ever watched a sci-fi/zombie/dystopian love story and thought “I would really enjoy seeing this live”, this just might be for you” - Salterton arts review, London. ****

Not really listening sometimes seems like a regional sport locally but the play wants to help the audience feel like they are one step behind what is being said. It’s a call to the importance of listening but touches on the idea of how hearing loss can bring isolation. Live creative captions are used to help the audience, if you have not experienced that before – think subtitles. An immersive soundscape from Garth McConaghie – who has worked extensively as a composer, sound designer, musical director, arranger and music producer for studios, theatre, film and television – is a key element to the production and the three actors Shaun Blaney, Christina Nelson and Mary McGurk voice multiple performers and are directed by Emma Copland. If you're about to think the theme might be a bit soft it does have a 18+ age content warning as it explores themes of violence, warfare and uses strong language.

The play's second outing was at the Deaf Arts Festival earlier and this is an opportunity to see and hear its latest revision. Blaney hopes to develop into a full scale production but sees the local rehearsed reading as one more important step in that direction. One that more funding and support could help scale up.

Later this year Blaney will reprise his role as Jake in Stones in his Pockets, Marie Jones Play for a UK tour, but knows the magic of theatre can bring a play anywhere. His In the name of the Son – the Gerry Conlon story experience – brought him from The Lyric, to the Grand Opera House, to Edinburgh Fringe, then a tour of New Zealand, where he watched famous New Zealand actor Sam Neill in the audience on his first night and came to understand the size of the Irish diaspora there who turned out in their droves for the production.

Deaf as a Post is at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich 2nd August – 4th August at 7.30pm. Tickets on Event Brite £5-£11. The Sunday 4th performance will be signed by Khristina Laverty.