Review: VOICE, Lion and Unicorn Theatre

Ethan Simm’s VOICE is a play that could only have come from the mind of someone young and ambitious, with deep affection for the stage but equal uncertainty about how to authentically exist on it. Staged with bold simplicity, it speaks to anyone who has ever offered their voice up to an audience.

Set in a drama school, the play follows a group of students; Jax (Milly Thorpe), Charlie (Lucy Gant), Arlo (Nina Amos), Aoife (Lauren Maguire), and Ariya (Niamh Spillane), as they deliver emotionally raw monologues drawn from their real lives in a class run by their teacher Joan (Annie Porter). The goal: to help them find their voice, primarily by tapping into their own vulnerability. The densely emotional monologues are punctuated by lighter ensemble scenes that capture the chaos of a drama class, and casual conversations between the students, which help to anchor the intense dramatic pieces to the real world.

VOICE is meta by nature. It’s a play about acting, but more than that, it’s about the awkward, often absurd tension between the stage and the real world. Fourth wall breaks, mid-monologue tangents, and quiet conversations between scenes, blur the line between performer and person and illuminate just how many voices swirl around any piece of theatre.

The monologues often drift into ellipses rather than land on conclusions, and resist polished story telling. Jax ends her otherwise well-choreographed and punchy piece with a shrug, mumbling that she’s not quite sure how to finish. Ariya, who initially refuses to participate in the exercise, inadvertently delivers a monologue of sorts in the form of a spontaneous rant. Aoife recounts her experience as a Northern Irish woman in England with grace and pain, only to be met with upbeat praise from her peers. Her reaction, “I don’t think yous quite understand the significance of what I just said” gets a laugh from the audience, but it also leaves a lingering sting. Simm highlights the risk involved in turning your real feelings into a product that might not be received in a way you are happy with.

The staging is minimal: handheld flashlights, with occasional blackouts and spotlights. This stripped-back aesthetic complements the rawness of the piece. The focus falls entirely on the performers and their words, theatre in its most elementary form: voice and body in space.

The production isn’t without its rough edges. The initial chaos of the drama class is entertaining and captures the high-octane energy of a drama school environment, but the rapid transitions between ensemble exercises, fleeting asides revealing the students’ anxieties, and the start of the monologues can feel a little disorienting. A clearer sense of structure early on would help build anticipation around the daunting challenge of performing these deeply personal pieces. Additionally, while the dramatic monologues are powerful, the characters’ off-stage personalities occasionally feel underdeveloped. With a little more time invested in defining who these students are beyond the drama school classroom, the emotional weight of their monologues could land even more powerfully.

When glimpses of the students’ off-stage personalities break through, we really understand and warm to them. In one moment, during a birthday song, Jax adds a deliberately rehearsed vocal flourish. It’s an amusing yet telling display of her instinct to embellish any moment that might showcase her talent. Amos is particularly memorable as Arlo, bringing sharp comic timing and a disarming, almost naïve lightness that cuts through the play’s emotional intensity.

VOICE doesn’t pretend to have all the answers to the many questions it poses, and astutely so. By refusing to tie everything up neatly, Simm creates something authentic to the rich, but still unformed voices the play represents.

Written by: Ethan Simm
Directed by: Ethan Simm
Co Produced by: Lauren Maguire and Elijah Lifton
Stage Manager: Abby Walsh
Dramaturg: Sophie Clancy

VOICE plays at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre until Friday 18 of July.