The Human Voice

How do you answer the phone? Do you say a friendly ‘hello’ or a brusque ‘hi there’, or do you leave the call unanswered altogether? Now on stage at Meat Market Stables, The Human Voice explores the intrinsic and intimate attachment we have with our phones and the ways in which we connect with other humans, both complete strangers and our nearest and dearest. Milk Bar saw the play on opening night and was wowed by the intelligent, unique and hugely entertaining piece of theatre.

Directed by Benjamin Sheen, The Human Voice is a collaboration of six of Australia’s leading young playwrights. The result is a sextuple bill where each short play centres on the now ubiquitous technology and the quirks we, as humans, exhibit when conversing on the phone. Sheen’s inspiration can be drawn from his fascination with Jean Cocteau’s 1930 play of the same name. ‘The original was such a simple concept: one woman speaking on the phone. But the real drama for me was how it revealed a new sort of language. We connect with people differently on the phone and it’s such an intimate space,’ he reflects.

Playwright Thomas De Angelis’ story focuses on a young couple who are navigating the challenges of a long-distance relationship over Christmas. The couple attempt phone sex to reignite their fizzling feelings while, unbeknown to each party, they both lie: the woman cuts her nails; the man reads a book. This play speaks to the ability to lie over the phone when you can’t see someone’s body language or eye contact, and how easy it can be to feign interest – or pleasure.

Playwright Ang Collins focuses on two middle-aged people who awkwardly attempt to rekindle an old relationship. One moved on, got married and is raising a small family; the other climbed the corporate ladder, sported company-branded cycling Lycra, and then ended it all in a dramatic, scone-throwing scene. Despite the many years since their last meeting, their brimming connection is clear.

In Jean Tong’s play, we see the telephone used as a vehicle for someone with an unhealthy attachment to their ex and the emotional toll it can take when providing care and support. Fiona Spitzkowsky’s play focuses on the tin can and string phone, and a haunting, paranoid game of cat and mouse with her ex. ‘I wanted to use the tin can phone as a way of examining surveillance today, but also to reflect that little sense of fear of not knowing, and how that ignorance can be manipulated,’ says Spitzkowsky.

Lewis Treston’s play is based on a fictional, HR-meets-therapy solution hotline called 1800-RealTalk. See a hotshot, quick-thinking lawyer and a trained operator hilariously navigate the rigidity of call centre-scripted dialogue. Their conversation is akin to a game of chess. The lawyer, separated from her partner, estranged from her father and alienated at her workplace, at times berates, humiliates and confides in the operator, ultimately ending in a wrestling match!

And last, our personal favourite, is playwright Georgia Symons’ decades-spanning story that typifies the minutiae and rhythmic dialogue spoken over the phone between a daughter and her parents. Regular topics include the latest progress from the veggie patch out back, the daughter’s son Max and the dad’s latest choice for book club. Clever, witty and ultimately devastating, this play will make you think of your own conversations with your parents, and the void that will exist when they are no more.

The Human Voice is a breath of fresh air and a contemporary exploration of the relationship with our phones. We can’t recommend it enough.

The Human Voice
Meat Market Stables, 54 Courtney Street, North Melbourne, 3051
Till Sunday 13 March 2020
meatmarket.org.au/event/the-human-voice/2021-03-04

Images: Jack Dixon-Gunn