Told entirely without words, Last Rites is a striking solo performance by Scottish-Singaporean Deaf artist Ramesh Meyyappan, who co-created the piece with Ad Infinitum’s Co-Artistic Director, George Mann. The show uses physical storytelling, projection and a resonant sound design that can be felt as well as heard, immersing audiences in a deeply personal story of grief, identity and fatherhood.
The show follows Arjun, a Deaf man who must travel from the UK to India to perform his estranged father’s funeral rites—rituals never passed down due to a lifetime of miscommunication. In life, his father refused to learn sign language. In death, Arjun is left to bridge the silence between them.
Blending autobiographical threads from both Meyyappan and Mann, Last Rites explores how the loss of a parent can also become a gateway to healing and transformation—particularly when becoming a parent oneself.
Ad Infinitum has strong roots in the city, having relocated to Bristol in 2015. “Bringing Last Rites, a universal story told through the eyes of a Deaf man, to Bristol Old Vic feels really special,” said Mann. “Bristol is our home, and we’re thrilled to be sharing this work with a community that has supported us from the start—including its vibrant Deaf community.”
The show is fully accessible to deaf, Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing audiences, integrating British Sign Language, creative captions, and visual storytelling throughout.
A post-show discussion will take place on Friday 18 July, featuring Ramesh Meyyappan and Bristol-based Deaf artist David Ellington, alongside a behind-the-scenes film of the show’s creation.
Last Rites was praised by The Guardian as “a sumptuous collaboration… a knotty mix of love and recrimination in which the personal and political collide” (★★★★).
Tickets are available now from bristololdvic.org.uk.