Writer: Shane O’Reilly
Composer: Tom Lane
Director: Annabelle Comyn
Devised by CODA’s (Child of Deaf Adults) Shane O’Reilly, Her Father’s Voice takes the audience inside the lives of a family in the days before their 6 year old daughter Sarah is due to have cochlear implant surgery. Parents Frank (Colin Campbell), a stay at home Dad and composer and Carol (Amy Molloy), a trainee doctor have moved in with Carol’s parents, Claudia and Darragh, with their daughter. The inevitable tension that arises from this is on full display throughout the play, only to be heightened by the debates about Sarah’s impending surgery and the revelation of long held family secrets. This play is full of familial tension.
Sarah is a deaf child, born to hearing parents. Carol has never learned Irish Sign Language (ISL) in order to communicate with her daughter, she feels that the cochlear implant will help them connect. In comparison, Frank has learned ISL and has immersed himself into Sarah’s world. The different sides of the debate on cochlear implants are incorporated into this show. Carol and her parents are squarely in the ‘it’s what is best for Sarah’ and ‘it’s better for her to be able to hear’ camp. Frank, however, is concerned about the risks of the surgery and how disconnecting Sarah from the deaf community she’s spent 6 years in could affect her. Neither side is presented as the ‘right’ side. The play acknowledges the importance of lasting connection with the deaf community and how a cochlear implant can be beneficial or give options to the child. Indeed, Marion (Rhiannon May), the deaf mother of Sarah’s best friend Ciara, repeatedly states she’s not against the implants. Parts of the show are only in ISL with no subtitles, an interesting and bold choice. Giving anyone in the audience unfamiliar with ISL a sense of ‘missing out’ on something in a conversation.
Each of the actors bring their own unique and interesting performance to their characters throughout the show. The stand out performance comes from deaf actress Rhiannon May as Marion, a mother stuck in an unhealthy relationship who arrives at the home of Claudia and Darragh in the middle of the night. Performing by both sign and speech, the eye is drawn to her, even when she is not the focus of the action on stage. She draws you in and invokes your sympathy for Marion.
One of the most interesting parts of this play is the set design by Joanna Parker. Designed with vertical columns to the front of the stage, the set gives the impression that you are looking through the windows of this family home. However, the columns did obscure the actors at various points of the show. The main set is a kitchen/living area of the home of Claudia and Darragh. It is sleek and modern looking with clean lines and modern appliances and to the left, in the corner, is an old mahogany drinks cabinet. A subtle reminder of the past.
Towards the end screens descend from the columns and a movie is played. At this time, the actors are replaced by five opera singers and an orchestra who narrate the movie. The music, composed by Tom Lane, is haunting and beautiful. It matches the action of the movie beautifully. The narration by the opera singers is often repetitive and at times becomes difficult to listen to. This whole section is somewhat too long and becomes uncomfortable after a certain amount of time. The movie also displayed a different child as Sarah than the one we had been watching on stage. An obvious continuity error when the child on stage is brunette and the one in the video is blonde. Although the reasoning behind the insertion of the video operatic interlude is obvious in the context of the plot, it doesn’t quite fit yet. It feels jarring and out of place. Indeed, several of the scene changes are quite jarring with sudden blackness, followed by an uncomfortably long time while the sets are rearranged. These are perhaps things that can be worked out with further performances.
The potential for Her Father’s Voice to open a wider debate about cochlear implants and the treatment of the deaf community is there. Representation of the deaf community in theatre is important. It invites the audience to engage in thoughtful discussion about those topics.
Runs Until 3rd Oct 2025.
