"Hypnotic, poetic and unruly. The Signdance Collective represents the ungovernable energy of art itself, railing and raging against tyrannical forces. Beautiful to behold"
No Passport, New York
"Bold & extraordinary, signs of brilliance, David Bower and Isolte Avila are something of a Beckettian duo"
Robert Shore
Time Out, London
"In a theatre landscape where the socially motivated angry writers of the sixties and seventies appear to be ancient history, it is exciting to see this outstanding offering from Signdance. Carthage combines poetry, music, sign and dance in this masterly presentation of physical theatre. Based on poetry written by Caridad Svich, the audience is propelled into a world where the voice and beauty of nature are ignored. But this is no fictional dystopian journey. We soon realise the performers are holding up our world for us to examine in all its brutality and inequality. We're drawn into the isolation of those experiencing slavery, human trafficking and forced migration. The fourth wall diving the audience from the actors is very quickly dismantled and we soon begin to realise how our silence and inactivity makes us culpable. It is extraordinary how drama dealing with such suffering and barbarism can be so beautiful. This is due to the sparkling language of Caridad Svich's poetry; the amazing acting of Isolte Avila, David Bower and Lionel M. Macauley and the haunting music of Angelina Schwammerlin. This is a production that everyone should see. But be prepared to be thinking about it for days to come, and like me, to be filled with the hope of seeing it again and again."
Peter Read
Playwright and Poet