Act 1 Summary

"Children of a Lesser God" begins out of sequence, with a break-up that will happen later on in the work. Sarah Norman, the lead actress, who is deaf, is signing to James Leeds, a speech therapist. They have reached the climax of a heated argument, and she signs to him that she has nothing except for him, but that she doesn't need him, as she still has herself. She makes the sign for "Join, Unjoin," a sign that we'll learn more about later on in the play. James is obviously upset, and after she runs off the stage, he addresses the audience (with words). He asks himself whether she left of her own accord, or if he drove her away. If he did, he says with some difficulty, it was because "In the beginning there was silence and out of that silence there...