Invisible Music by Platform 4 - an immersive journey though sound and experience ♪♫♬
This was an intimate affair, rugs, garish lamp shades and house plants were arranged in a semi-circular fashion that resembled many a grandma’s living room on the stage of the Theatre Royal Winchester. Sitting on the stage with the performers was wonderfully cosy and dissolved all the assumed formalities that came with the prestigious building we were in. I sat by the double bassist Jules Bushell with artistic director and clarinet player Catherine Church to my left, Pete Flood the percussionist tucked away behind his instruments at the back of the stage, Jill Dowse the pianist was across and Matt Tarling the violinist stood further to my left.
Several wonderfully wacky instruments also featured, a Balafon, Malletkat and Dulcimer. The quiet, delicate noises were often the most magical in this performance of sound that explored what the world of a deaf person looks, sounds and feels like. Invisible Music follows touring production Memory Points, an interactive piece about Alzheimer's which worked with and was inspired by members of the Connections Club, a group people who have early onset Alzheimer’s. Similarly Invisible Music was formed from collaboration with Winchester’s Lip Reading Group and is inspired by Catherine Church’s mother who suffers from hearing loss.
There are misconceptions of deafness, as the piece discussed, in a section titled ‘Angry Tango’, a voice clip from Gill said, “I don’t feel sad I feel angry. Everybody was so accepting of it, I’m not”, “Sorry, I didn’t hear that, sorry”, it ended with the line, “drop the sorry it’s not your fault”. This was accompanied by jarring trills and rhythms from the performers as they expressed an inner audio, an unheard agony at the frustration of being excluded and misunderstood due to issues hearing. The voices we heard lacked faces, they could be of any ethnicity, ability or most significantly, age, the assumption that age and deafness are exclusively linked was questioned though Platform 4’s use of the voices.
There were several moments of insightful honesty in the performance, which were often profoundly funny, Margret’s explanation of conversation for example, “I can hear a muffled babble of words like somebody talking through three duvets”. The performers turned to ‘chat’ to us, speaking so quietly and obscurely that only a few words could be deciphered; it was a one way conversation that, though clearly fictional, still felt a little alienating.
Jan’s voice clip spoke of the supermarket and how she can’t hear footsteps, “people glide by as if they were moving in feet wearing socks”; when removed, seemingly minor, everyday sounds alter the feeling of an environment entirely. Jan also said, “violinists are always very interesting because they get so agonised and to me it actually looks quite ridiculous… because there’s no noise”. Matt Tarling meanwhile played his violin, swaying and jutting, I understood what Jan meant, it must seem rather odd to her.
In one scene Platform 4 knocked wooden pegs together to create a cacophony of ‘clack, clack, clack’ which moved into a collective rhythm performed on a rectangular sound pad. A voice described the experience of playing the piano as a deaf person, “you’re hitting the right notes but your head is hearing something different”, she says “you go further up the piano and it’s just wooden clatter”. This scene offered an insight that went beyond loss of hearing; it explored the peculiar changes that come with deafness, something I certainly was unaware of before seeing the show.
There was a deeper narrative of deterioration at play beneath the show’s insights and spirited observations, in the ending scene Gill’s disembodied voice said “the breakdown of one’s body is a bit frightening” whilst Annabel said “I’ve always been aware we are not here forever.” These comments, although appearing to go beyond the issue of deafness and into a broader question of life, appreciate the emotional impact that hearing loss can have on someone, and can lead them to question the nature of their reality.
Invisible Music was an immersive journey, and importantly the piece felt accessible to a hearing and non-hearing audience through the use of a projection and lighting effects alongside the harmony of instruments. The overall atmosphere in the theatre was that of surreal relaxation, the sounds of water, birdsong and repeated rhythm from the double bass put you at total ease which for me, encouraged reflection. When the piece ended several audience members including myself had to have a few moments to readjust to the comparatively harsh lighting of the foyer after spending time in a dimly lit enclave of calm.
I would like to thank Catherine Church for the complimentary tickets that were provided to students of The University of Winchester, and wish her and the company all the best with this wonderful new production.
If you would like to know more about Platform 4 and where you can next see this production please follow this link - http://www.platform4.org/invisible-music.htm
