'Trash' Off-Broadway review — a high-energy roommate comedy told through American Sign Language
Read our review of Trash off Broadway, a show written by and starring Deaf actors James Caverly and Andrew Morrill, who perform mainly in American Sign Language.
Summary
- Trash is a play about two Deaf roommates fighting over who needs to take out the trash and then about bigger issues
- The show is performed almost entirely in sign language and includes audience-participation elements to involve those who don't speak ASL
- The show offers a unique theatrical experience through its means of communication
Fighting with a roommate over who will take out the trash is practically a rite of passage of city living. In tight quarters, Jake and Tim, two Deaf roommates, bicker over chores and responsibilities. Trash is a familiar story of shared living, but told almost entirely in American Sign Language — a rare and groundbreaking onstage experience.
The storytelling is propelled by projections above the theatre-in-the-round that mark the shifting timeline (the play jumps between two years). The characters use whiteboards to relay messages directly to the audience, and a jukebox character (magnetically played by Chris Ogren) occasionally springs to life to “voice” the roommates’ exchanges when tensions rise.
The audience is called upon to act as a kind of referee, voting to settle the roommates’ squabbles. Questions like “Should oranges go in the fridge?” and “Is cereal healthy?” appear on whiteboards, and audience members respond by holding up red or yellow voting cards. It’s a clever way to involve the audience, especially for those who don’t know ASL, like me.
The many scenes performed in ASL can be disorienting, and that’s intentional. In one moment, Jake (James Caverly) vents about a recent theatre experience with a poor interpreter: “Two hours of missing out on information — by the end of the night I was fed up and walked out before the show ended.”
Yet the leads are so expressive and compelling that even if the language leaves you momentarily out of the loop, you’re fully immersed in the action. As Jake, Caverly captures the tension of a tightly wound, put-together roommate on the brink, while Tim (Andrew Morrill) plays a seemingly laid-back slacker with unexpected depth.
On the surface, it’s a play about trash, but it’s really about the emotional baggage the characters carry: past scars, dating secrets, questions of identity, and feelings about what it means to be Deaf in a hearing world. It’s an experience meant for participating in, so cast your vote and witness something entirely new.
Trash summary
Jake and Tim are two Deaf roommates fighting over whose turn it is to take out the trash. Their argument spirals into a tallying game as they pull items from the bin — a discarded love letter, a used condom, orange peels — to determine who produces the most trash. But their lives beyond the garbage bin are just as messy: Jake is meeting an ex, and Tim is under house arrest and secretly dating their landlord.
Trash was developed through IRT Theater's Residency Program and JACK Labs in 2022.
What to expect at Trash
Trash is performed almost entirely in American Sign Language. The production’s accessibility begins at the entrance, where elevator attendants sign and hold directions to the theatre space on the third floor. Each performance includes open and closed captioning, and the run also features several accessibility offerings, including a relaxed performance, a touch tour, and sensory tools.
The 100-minute show runs without intermission and includes profanity, sexual language, and themes related to audism. The production features haze and fog.
What audiences are saying about Trash
During previews, audience members praised Trash's participatory elements and performances on online forums.
- “100 minutes of engaging story and comedy, and you don’t have to know any ASL to see it. It’s the first play by Deaf playwrights to have such a big platform, and is accessible storytelling at its finest.” - Reddit user u/PanicAtTheMetro
- “I can’t say you won’t miss some detail by not knowing ASL, but my friend who knows 0 loved the show and didn’t feel like they missed any of the story.” - Reddit user u/PanicAtTheMetro
- “A thoughtful commentary on the limits of ‘accessibility’ and what it really means to live as a deaf person in a hearing world. The first half felt more compatible for deaf audience members, but it really won me over in the end. Will be thinking about this for a minute.” - Mezzanine user Jacque
Who should see Trash
- Theatregoers who enjoy participatory shows will like Trash, in which the audience casts a vote that determines one of two possible endings for the characters.
- Those who have an interest in learning about Deaf culture should see Trash. The show grapples with audism — discrimination against Deaf and hard-of-hearing people — and has much to say about how Deaf people are perceived in a hearing world.
- People who like new, bold plays that try something different on stage should see this show, which is performed primarily in ASL. It uses multiple forms of communication to engage the audience and explores topics that rarely receive stage time.
Learn more about Trash off Broadway
This roommate comedy, performed mostly in American Sign Language, transcends language to communicate universal truths.
Photo credit: Trash off Broadway. (Photos by Rebecca J. Michelson)
Originally published on