Poignant, engaging and perceptively funny, Personal is artist Jodee Mundy’s story of being CODA, which she cleverly portrays through performance, storytelling, multimedia and animation.
What’s it like to live in a Deaf family, where using sign language is natural, in a society that sees only your family’s disability with voyeuristic curiosity? One of the most poignant, engaging and perceptively funny theatre pieces we’ve discovered in a while, Personal is artist Jodee Mundy’s (OAM ) story of being CODA (child of Deaf adults). Her experience as the only hearing person in a Deaf family— something she first realised when she was lost in a Kmart as a five-year-old — is cleverly portrayed through performance, storytelling, multimedia and animation, all with a lightness of touch that’s truly captivating.
Jodee Mundy OAM is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural leader based in Melbourne. She lives with a chronic illness and identifies as an artist with an acquired disability. Bilingual in Auslan (Australian Sign Language) and English, she is the only person who hears in her all-Deaf family and is a CODA. First presented in 2018, her solo performance of Personal explores the role children of Deaf adults play in paving the way for their family – as interpreter, authority, conduit. It was created with a talented team of collaborators and is presented in two languages via a virtual interpreter.
Jodee Mundy’s Personal is a winning and inclusive tonic, consistently hilarious and informative. -Time Out
Personal, aside from a triumphant piece of performance and live theatre, does something special; it bridges divides, it removes, within this context, “us” and “them”. Not often does theatre, despite the best of intentions, achieve such heights.
-Melbourne Critique
This is a notable and important example of where access is not part of the performance, access is the performance. -Arts Hub
All shows are NZSL interpreted – bilingual English and Sign Language.
Presented By Auckland Arts Festival
Artistic Director/Writer/Performer: Jodee Mundy
Creative Team: Jen Hector, Madeleine Flynn & Tim Humphrey, Rhian Hinkley, Sandra Fiona Long, Jo Dunbar
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