A conversation with Louis Neethling who stars in Definitely Theatre’s latest play, The Promise (BSL)

Hi Louis, congratulations on your role in Deafinitely Theatre’s The Promise – how are you feeling about the role?

I’m excited to be a small cog in this exciting and important project, and grateful that Paula (Garfield, the director) has provided a safe space for us as a company to explore and experiment.

What is The Promise about and who do you play?

The play explores how dementia impacts upon a deaf family’s relationships with each other and where we see supressed grievances rising to the surface.

I play the middle-aged Father, a factory worker, who has had a poor deaf education and therefore has a limited understanding of the world around him which leads to frustration, ignorance, and also relying on others.

I know you as a director first and foremost, yet you have acted before – can you tell us a bit about your acting career? What encouraged you to move back into acting?

I had done the obligatory school play acting but had never formally studied acting until many years later. I had been a presenter on South African TV and taken part in comedy sketches, children’s short dramas and storytelling, and was lucky enough to have been nominated for an Artes Award.

Then I met David Stevenson, a teacher at The National School of the Arts in Johannesburg, and we set up classes for deaf actors which eventually developed into a show where we were invited to perform at a Deaf arts festival in Madrid, 2000.

Much later, whilst working as a director, I was fortunate to do a Deaf actor course at RADA with Deafinitely Theatre, and then a physical theatre workshop with Told by an Idiot.

I’m a massive fan of their shows, and also the company Fevered Sleep. I’m an avid theatre goer and feel fortunate with regards to taking advantage of the great access schemes in London theatres and beyond. I prefer watching deaf or integrated theatre, but I love all theatre.

What is it like to be directed on stage as an actor now as opposed to directing? Are you enjoying working with Paula Garfield and her directing style?

As a director, I never stop learning and so working as an actor with Paula directing is just an extension of my desire to keep on doing this. It has been interesting and also a luxury to have so much rehearsal time.

Sadly, there’s usually not enough money in a deaf film budget for weeks and weeks of rehearsals. In a dream scenario, there would be enough money to have theatre-like rehearsals, where people can connect with each other, feel safe to experiment and fail, to do something out of their comfort zone.

This applies whether it is an avant-garde project like a Yorgos Lanthimos film, or a familiar and emotionally gut punching project like a Mike Leigh or Ken Loach film. That would be good.

How are the rehearsals going for the show?

The rehearsal period has only just started and so I am learning the ropes and bonding with my fellow actors. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to watch my fellow actors in action.

Have you personally learnt anything or taken anything valuable from the rehearsal process or the story itself so far?

I have found the research process emotional as I have elderly deaf parents and my mother is currently displaying symptoms of dementia. It’s very hard because I am so far away from them, but at the same time I’m very grateful to Deafinitely’s Paula Garfield and Melissa Mostyn, for bringing an awareness of this devastating condition through the play.

What do you hope audience members will feel/experience when coming to view The Promise?

I think this will be an emotional wake-up moment for some, and a moment of recognition for carers and those ‘left behind’, about a condition that is pervading not just our elderly deaf community, but the whole country.

On the NHS website it says 1 in 11 people over the age of 65 have dementia in the UK.  Moreover, what’s shocking for me, after my company produced the award-winning documentary Who Cares? For BSLBT in 2012, there is still only one Deaf Nursing Home in UK.

Why should people go along to watch The Promise?

It’s an opportunity to see a new work by Paula Garfield and Melissa Mostyn, an opportunity to support Deafinitely Theatre’s work, and a chance for momentary escape from everyday life into the world of theatre.

Recently there have been award winning dramas, films, documentaries about dementia and Alzheimer’s in the mainstream media – where people in homes who have dementia or Alzheimer’s suddenly come to life when a record is put on or a piano is played: recognising music from their childhood or youth. Well, what about deaf people with dementia?

What research has been done, are people talking about the isolation for the deaf people with dementia who sign BSL or the carers of these people? I know I’ve seen a video circulating on social media about a family and their deaf mother with dementia.

In an ageing society I think it is important and relevant to be talking about this in the deaf community.

Do you have more acting plans in the pipeline? What’s next for you?

I’m interested in many things in life and acting has always been a passion but as I mentioned before, my priority is to keep on learning from other people and situations, and to experience life in many ways.

I have some projects that my company is developing and producing, and I am doing some writing with other writers, but if another acting opportunity arose, and the script sounded interesting, and it was an opportunity to work with more great people… yeah, sounds great!

The Promise begins its UK tour on the 6th April 2024. For dates and further information see here.