Mathilda and the Orange Balloon - US
by Jess Kaufman
Based on the book Mathilda and the Orange Balloon, text © 2010 by Randall de Sève, illustrations © 2010 by Jen Corace
In development as part of New Victory LabWorks at The New Victory Theater in New York City. The play will be redeveloped in ASL with New York based Deaf artists in consultation with The DH Ensemble.
Mathilda and the Orange Balloon is a D/deaf and hearing accessible play for children and families based on the popular picture book by Randall de Sève. Mathilda is a grey little sheep in a grey little world, but when an orange balloon makes a surprise appearance on her farm, she starts to question if that's all she can be. Mathilda takes her family, the narrators, and the audience on a journey of self-discovery and self-determination that includes structured playtime with the actors on the farmyard playground set, where we discover that we can be anything we believe! The play is performed in Sign Language, Spoken English, and with animated captions to be fully accessible.
The US production will be developed at the New Victory Theatre as part of Lab Works 2019-2020. The first production was created in Spoken English and BSL with The DH Ensemble in the UK.