Performer Ramesh Meyyappan in Last Rites holds his arms up, palms skyward, and looks up. He is half-kneeling. Behind him, projected overlapping circles of wavy zig zags in greens and yellows. Photo credit Camilla Greenwell.

touring opportunities: LAst RITES

 ABOUT THE SHOW 

A boundary-breaking show for all

How do you say goodbye when words were never there?

Arjun’s father never learnt to sign, and now that he’s gone, Arjun must find his own way to honour him. In a world where ancient traditions meet modern reality, Arjun embarks on a deeply personal and visually mesmerising quest to create a farewell ritual for his father – one woven from memory, love, and loss.

Performer Ramesh Meyyappan in a white shirt and grey trousers. He's stood sideways with his one arm blocking his eyes and one out to the side. His mouth is wide open. The background is projected with a red and orange explosion.

Image credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

Travel from the UK to India in Last Rites, a stunning fusion of visual storytelling, electrifying movement, and an immersive soundscape you can feel as well as hear. This is theatre like you’ve never experienced it before, rich with emotion, beauty, and innovation. Last Rites redefines what theatre can be.

Last Rites is a non-verbal piece of theatre with no spoken words that is accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences.

Performer Ramesh Meyyappan in a white shirt and grey trousers. He's kneeling on the floor with his arms out facing up to the sky. There is a low, long platform at the back. The back wall is full of galaxy-like projections.

Image credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

Last Rites is made possible through funding from Arts Council England and Bristol City Council and co-commissioned by London International Mime Festival, Derby Theatre and Corn Exchange Newbury. This production is supported by Paul and Joanna Pearson.

Running time: 65 minutes (no interval)

Age guidance: 14+

Sensitive content: distressing or potentially triggering themes, flashing lights, loud unexpected & overlapping sound

Accessibility & Show Language Information: Last Rites is a non-verbal piece of theatre with no spoken words that is accessible to Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing audiences. The performance includes a soundtrack with heavy use of bass so that it can be felt or heard by audience members.

The primary languages of the show are British Sign Language (BSL) and American Sign Language (ASL); the performer signs in both languages throughout the piece. Creative captions* translate the sign language into written English, projected onto a large screen at the back of the stage as part of the projections that are used throughout the show.

*Creative captions, rather than being added in as subtitles to translate the onscreen action, are part of the show itself; they are woven into the design of the show and are dynamic and animated. In Last Rites, projections are used throughout the show and are projected onto a large screen at the back of the stage. Creative captions appear on this screen as part of the projections, often interacting with the images onscreen and with the action onstage. This creates a more integrated and immersive experience for audiences, where they don’t need to split their focus between the onstage action and the captioning.

Touring information

Last Rites premiered in 2024 at MimeLondon, and has toured in the UK through 2024 - 2025; you can find a full list of our previous and upcoming tour dates here.

We are now interested in touring Last Rites internationally. Ad Infinitum has toured extensively worldwide since 2007, and we are keen to rekindle old connections and make new ones.

We are also very happy to hear from UK programmers; we are open to conversations about future UK touring, one-off runs, and festival bookings.

Touring Specifications

Last Rites is a midscale show with a minimalist set and small on-the-road team. As a non-verbal show, Last Rites is suited to English-speaking and non-English-speaking audiences, and is accessible to Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing audiences; the written English creative captions within the show are also suitable for translation.

Space: End-on black box, either flat floor or raised flat stage. Minimum playing space 7.0m wide x 8.0m deep (for rear projection), or 6.0m deep for front projection. Minimum rigging height 5.0m from stage surface

Technical requirements: Please see our tour pack for a full technical rider.

No. people on the road: 4 - 5

Wrap-around activity: Post-show discussions, Q&As, workshops & teaching

Performer Ramesh Meyyappan in a white shirt and grey trousers. He's stood up facing forward with left hand raised & right hand over the centre of his chest. He has raised eyebrows and an open mouth. The back wall has a blue speckled projection.

Image credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

Other touring work

We also have several portfolio shows available for international touring:

Photo of performer Vicky Araico Cassis wearing red clothes stood looking at the camera with her arms down by her sides.

Image credit: Pili Pala

until i find you/hasta encontrarte

Co-created with Mexican theatre company El Ingenio del Caldera, award-winning Hasta Encontrarte (Spanish-language version) premiered in Mexico City in 2024. The show is available to tour in both English and in Spanish.

Photo of performer Deb Pugh. She has her right arm raised in a fist and is staring at the camera with her eyebrows raised and head tilted forward.

Image credit: Idil Sukan

beautiful evil things

Our acclaimed one-woman show has toured extensively in the UK and Europe. With a two-person team on the road and no freight, this portable and adaptable epic is perfectly suited to international touring.



Photo of 3 performers wearing blue and stood together facing the camera. David Ellington is at the front and his arm is raised in the middle of signing.

Image credit: Alex Brenner

extraordinary wall [of silence] - theatrical film

A theatrical film of our 2019 live show, Extraordinary Wall [Of Silence] was commissioned for the Hong Kong No Limits festival in 2022. It is available for international and UK screenings.

Got another show in mind?

You can view our full portfolio of professional shows here. If you’re interested in a particular show, please get in touch!

Get in touch

If you would like to discuss Last Rites or any of our other portfolio shows, please reach out to:

Mia Lake, Producer
mia@ad-infinitum.org

Nir Paldi, Co-Artistic Director
nir@ad-infinitum.org