Image courtesy of The Lowry
Reviewer: Megan Hyland
Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Harriet Madeley’s The Listening Room is a powerful piece centred around five people whose lives have been affected by violent crime – either as the victim or the perpetrator. Based on four interviews conducted by Madeley, we follow the stories of those who decided to meet the person on the other side of the trial through restorative justice.
The play stars Archie Backhouse, Bruce Kitchener, Mark Knightley, Harriet Madeley and Cathy Tyson. However, there are no respective roles assigned to the actors. Instead, you – the audience – get to decide who the roles will be assigned to, making every performance unique and bringing an unexpected element of fluidity. It may sound like an odd choice that leaves plenty of room for things to go wrong, but, as a creative choice it adds so much more depth to the piece and each actor adopts their role with ease. By making the roles more fluid, the audience is reminded that the actors are interchangeable. It doesn’t matter who the roles are being played by because they are only temporarily channeling the voices of these people and their stories. The simplistic staging, uniformity of the costumes and interchangeable nature of the acting roles reminds the audience that what matters most are the words – and they are poignant enough on their own.
That is not to say, however, that each actor doesn’t commit to their role. Although you never hear the audio from the interviews, a quick YouTube search of the names of the interviewees reveals the accuracy with which the actors present them. Every characteristic pause, tone of voice, accent and intonation is translated perfectly. They manage to bring the interviewees to life in such a way that their presence is truly felt on stage, without making it feel as though they’re doing a cheap impression. Their performances truly embody the stories of the interviewees without glamorising or exaggerating, and the raw emotion that they exude truly takes the air from the room.
Although the stories of the interviewees are unconnected, the way that Madeley and director Max Barton have arranged the piece reminds the audience that they represent a commonality. Each narrative is laid out side-by-side, and follows the same pattern of emotion, reminding us that these are mere examples of many other similar stories out there. However, as Madeley herself said in the Q & A session, this is not a propaganda piece around restorative justice. Of course, restorative justice is the focus, but this piece does not take sides. The stories of the perpetrators are heard alongside the victims, giving equal time to both and neither excusing nor condemning the perpetrators. It simply lays down the stories of the interviewees as they experienced them, in their own words, and Barton’s brilliant direction allows the audience to feel the presence of the interviewees on the stage, without veering into any dramatic re-enactments or cheesy flashbacks. What we have are simply actors telling stories, reminding us that there is nothing more powerful than talking.
-Megan Hyland
The Listening Room runs at The Lowry until Saturday 15 June.