YOU HAVE TO BE DEAF TO UNDERSTAND

The play is inspired by the poem of the same name written in the 1970s by Willard J. Madsen, a Deaf professor of English literature at Gallaudet University, in which he describes the experience of the Deaf body and sign language in society. The poem has been translated into many languages, including written Italian. However, its translation, done by a hearing translator, contains seeds of linguistic oppression, phonocentrism, and appropriation. The performance thus stems from the desire to give it a reappropriated, Deaf translation. It does so through a scenic translation that uses a poetic form specific to sign languages (Visual Sign), which can also be understood by those who don’t use sign language.