Ad Infinitum are delighted to offer a workshop for professional artists exploring visual and physical characterisation, led by acclaimed Scottish-Singaporean theatre maker Ramesh Meyyappan. This session will be supported by BSL interpreters.
Workshop Content
This half-day workshop will focus on the visual aspects of characterisation. Participants will make use of sign mime and explore the use of characters with mimed props, playing multiple characters and working with character transitions. While the attributes of stock, stereotypical characters will be explored, participants will also look at some of the subtle nuances of characterisation in performance.
Striking characterisations are exaggerated to create a comic or grotesque effect, such as in lazzi, the stock comedic routines associated with Commedia dell’arte. Lazzi provide the basic opportunity for playfulness. The difference between gags and lazzi is that the latter always have a human reference. A gag can be purely mechanical or absurd; it can leave one kind of logic behind and suggest a different one, but the lazzo always brings out an element of the character’s humanity.
This workshop is open to professional artists and theatre makers aged 18+.
The workshop will be delivered in BSL and translated into spoken English by a BSL interpreter. Interpreters are also available for BSL users taking part. The workshop can also be adapted to different access needs; please get in touch to discuss this with us.
About Ramesh Meyyappan
Ramesh Meyyappan is a theatre maker who develops performances using an eclectic mix of visual and physical theatre styles. Ramesh continually seeks to develop and extend his theatrical visual vocabulary, for example incorporating; circus techniques, bouffon, puppetry and illusion within his work. He enjoys the challenge of creating strong narrative visual work.
Over the years, his solo performances and collaborations have toured nationally and internationally to much critical acclaim. His work has been nominated five times for Best Actor at the Life! Theatre Awards (Singapore) and awarded the accolade twice. In Scotland, he won the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Leading Light Award in 2024 for his recent show Love Beyond, and has received multiple CATS (Critics Award Theatre Scotland) nominations.
Ramesh Meyyappan is one of the most distinctive and acclaimed theatre makers working in Scotland today
Sunday National
Ramesh Meyyappan makes his high-precision performance look effortless – even weightless
The Guardian on Last Rites
