The world premiere of Manifesto of Silences by Irene Holub pushes opera beyond spoken language by using Auslan poetry, light, projection and sound.
Presented by Arts House and Melbourne Fringe, the work allows audiences to feel their way into a history they may not have lived.
Manifesto of Silences asks what opera can become when created from a Deaf perspective that is accessible to both sign language users and non-signers.
There are no captions, voiceovers or interpreters within the performance. Instead, six Deaf artists communicate through Auslan, visual vernacular and physical performance.
The six artists – Walter Kadiki, Luke King, Anna Seymour, Ramas McRae, Maya Sandon and Franco Spadea – each bring their own practice to the stage, from poetry to movement to visual design.
Holub recognises there is a fine balance between access and isolation. “Spoken words can dilute the power of sign language, even when it’s added to help,” she said.
The performance replaces speech with its own language: gestures become words, movement becomes expression and lighting stands in for verbal cues.
Visual Vernacular, a form within Auslan combining facial responses and digital design, allows non-signers to follow the emotion and story. This is similar to Holub’s experience watching opera, long before she understood the language being sung.
“Poetry runs through everything I make. This work builds on years of finding new ways to bring Deaf culture and language to the stage,” said Holub.
Shaped by the history of Deaf culture, Manifesto of Silences responds to a lifetime of decisions made about Deaf people, rather than with them. The work gives form to the future, language and identity left unaccounted for when those decisions are made.
Manifesto of Silences is building pathways for future Deaf creatives. With Deaf artists holding creative control, the work was developed through Arts House’s Warehouse Residency and follows a sold-out development season in 2025.
October 6 – 11
artshouse.com.au
Image: Irene Holub
