Five people are suspended by harnesses on stage in dramatic lighting and mist, appearing to hang limply in front of a brick wall, creating a haunting, theatrical scene.
Two people lean on a stage frame with red curtains, looking toward the camera. In the background, a smaller version of the same scene repeats, creating a tunnel-like effect.
A stage scene bathed in red with layered images of performers. Large on-screen text reads, “I want some quiet.” One performer sits in the center while others stand and gesture in dramatic theatrical lighting.
A soldier points a gun at a man with raised hands beside a green vehicle, while white particles or raindrops are visible in the air around them at night.

Dead Centre: Deaf Republic

ABOUT

A gunshot in occupied territory. A soldier shoots a deaf boy in a public square. The next day, the whole town wakes up deaf, refusing to hear the soldiers, teaching one another a sign language of resistance. From that premise, drawn from Ilya Kaminsky‘s acclaimed poetic narrative, Dublin’s Dead Centre and Sign Language poet Zoë McWhinney build one of the most striking imports of the season: a fable of occupation in which silence becomes both a hiding place and an act of defiance.

A deaf and hearing ensemble lead a production that folds sign language, puppetry, live cinema, and music into a single charged form, turning quiet itself into something political. Fresh from its acclaimed premiere at London’s Royal Court, where it was named as one of The Stage‘s top shows of 2025, Deaf Republic is theater of rare invention and rare feeling, holding a whole town’s refusal to listen up against a world that will not stop shouting.

ADVISORY
Deaf Republic is performed through a mix of International Sign, spoken English, and moments of creative captioning in written English. The show is not fully captioned.

Three reasons to go

POETRY IN MOTION – A visually astonishing staging that folds puppetry, aerial work, live video, and sign language into a single, shape-shifting spectacle.

REPRESENTATION MATTERS – A deaf-led production that turns accessibility itself into a dramatic subject, changing who the theater is built to address.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES – One of the most celebrated new works of the London season, making its North American premiere fresh from the Royal Court.

THE ARTISTs

Dead Centre

Dead Centre

CREATIVE CREDITS

Adapted from the book by: Ilya Kaminsky
Adaptation by: Dead Centre and Zoë Mcwhinney
Direction: Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd
Dramaturgs: Lydia Gratis, Jess Latowicki, Gill Greer
Assistant Director: Liam Rees
Stage Design: Jeremy Herbert
Costume Design: Mae Leahy
Lighting Design: Azusa Ono
Video Director: Grant Gee
Sound Design & Composition: Kevin Gleeson
Associate Sound Designer: Fred DeFaye

Puppetry Consultant: Cillian O’donnacha
Marionnette Puppets Created By: Marrionettes.cz
Puppet of Anushka created by Suse Reibisch

Aerial Consultants: Chrissie Ardill & Kat Cooley
Aerial Crew: Chrissie Ardill, Marie Williamson, and Merlin Stone

Fight Choreographer: Ciarán O’Grady
Intimacy Coordinators: Roisin O’Donovan & Abi Kessel
Video Programmer: Michael Dunne
Relighter: Peter Bond

Stage Manager: Sibéal Ní Mhaoileoin
Assistant Stage Manager: Ross Smith
Set Technician: Anika Kidd

Wardrobe Manager: Eimear Hussey

Production Manager: Gavin Kennedy
Producer: Tilly Taylor
Associate Producer: Lianne Quigley

Producer for Royal Court Theatre: Hannah Lyall

This tour is supported by Culture Ireland. 

Deaf Republic was funded originally co-produced with Royal Court Theatre and funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, in association with Dublin Theatre Festival and Complicité, with support from field:arts and ZooCo.

GALLERY

BEYOND THE STAGE
A man smokes onstage under a large screen showing his close-up. Another man stands in the background, watching him. The stage is dimly lit, with scattered props and a blue-lit floor.

Study Guides

Dead Centre: Deaf Republic

Prep School: Deaf Republic

Learn More

PRESS

An unsettling, enthralling mix of puppetry, circus, and sign language… an experimental epic of war and resistance that’ll make you rub your eyes and reach desperately for something real to hold on to

Independent (on DEAF REPUBLIC) Independent (on DEAF REPUBLIC)

A wondrous two hours of storytelling.

The Telegraph (on DEAF REPUBLIC) The Telegraph (on DEAF REPUBLIC)

★★★★★
Unmissable

Sunday Express (on DEAF REPUBLIC) Sunday Express (on DEAF REPUBLIC)

SUPPORT

NYU Skirball’s programs are made possible in part with support from the National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; and the Howard Gilman Foundation; Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels; Culture Ireland; New York Community Trust; The Shubert Foundation; Collins Building Services; Goethe Institut New York with support from the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany; Adam Mickiewicz Institute; Polish Cultural Institute; Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation through the Theatre & New Forms program; Consulate General of Switzerland in New York; Harkness Foundation for Dance; and Marta Heflin Foundation; as well as our valued donors through memberships, commissioning, and Allies for Arts Access Fund support.

This project is made possible in part with support from Culture Ireland and the Irish Arts Center.

Black stencil-style text reads “IRISH ARTS CENTER” on a white background. The bold, modern font features artistic gaps and incomplete lines in each letter, creating a contemporary visual effect.