Deaf Republic

Deaf Republic
Written by Ilya Kaminsky
Directed by Malik Paris

April 14-16, 2023
Henrietta Ballroom at RIT Inn

Deaf Republic takes place in an unspecified time of political unrest in an occupied territory. The story unfolds in episodic poems, opening with the shooting of a young deaf boy at a protest. In response, the entire town adopts deafness as a strategy of resistance. The poems explore how language enables resistance to power and how the lives of the townspeople are scarred by political violence. Written in English by Ilya Kaminsky, a hard-of-hearing Ukraine immigrant who grew up in Rochester, Deaf Republic is performed in ASL as part of the 2023 Big Read organized by NTID. NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

Mature Content Warning: This play contains themes such as sexuality, murder, and police violence. Most appropriate for ages 13 and up.