An profound investigation into how the voice can become a person
The voice is a powerful tool in expressing who you are. For trans musicians in particular, the ability to reform yourself through the use of vocal manipulation has put them at the forefront of the hyperpop genre for decades.
The question “Why are all hyperpop musicians trans?” is posed at one point during independent Irish company Jaxbanded Theatre’s experimental play HYPER, summing up the piece’s attempt to express the importance of artistic expression to so many members of the trans community. Written and directed by Ois O’Donoghue, the play captures the visceral, messy confusion of being trans and feeling as though you don’t match the body you’re in.
Lead actors Fiona Larman, playing Saoirse, and Christopher O’Shaugnessy, as Conall, are two best friends who have always made music together, gearing themselves up for a gig. Saoirse, who has recently transitioned, struggles with how she is perceived in the world, in particular how her voice does not match up to how she looks. Despite her use of modulators and training apps to alter her voice, it is not enough, and her friendship with Conall is strained. The play is anchored by the sincerity and vulnerability concocted by Larman and O’Shaugnessy, presenting the audience with a strong anchor to bind them. The pair take the centre staged, but they are not alone.
Behind a white screen, writer Ois O’Donoghue stands amongst a mess of blinking wires, vocalising the kaleidoscopic inner thoughts of Saoirse. Distorted under a modulator that differs wildly in pitch, it can at times be difficult to understand what O’Donoghue is saying – but that is very much the point. Not every member of the audience can identify with what Saoirse is going through and that’s okay – HYPER, through many other methods including audience participation, is trying to bridge the gap so that cisgender members of the audience are able to empathise just a little bit more with what trans people go through every single day.
A play about hyperpop and transness wouldn’t survive without a killer backdrop of sound and HYPER fits the bill. Ruairi Nicholl’s sound design, performed live in the space, is a standout, poignantly fitting the emotional and visceral moments without dragging attention away. Jodie Doyle’s production design and Amy Dunne’s lighting are similarly simple but effective, utilising only boxes for music equipment and dimmed, blue lighting to transport us a raucous gig.
HYPER does not try to tackle every aspect of the trans experience, so by focusing on and investigating how the voice can be and become a person, the team at Jaxbanded Theatre succeed in creating a show that is unlike any other.