Nine seemingly ordinary lives intertwine and entangle in ‘Speaking In Tongues’, peeking behind the facade of suburban normality in a winding tale of love, loss and lies.
Written by Australian playwright Andrew Bovell, ‘Speaking In Tongues’ was first performed on stage in 1996 and was adapted to screen for the film ‘Lantana’ in 2001. Black Swan State Theatre Company presents its production of the piece, directed by Black Swan Associate Artist Humphrey Bower.
“The play has a film noir quality to it, and it’s kind of a thriller,” Humphrey says.
“The first half is about infidelity, but the second half goes into a darker space, basically a woman who has disappeared, and it [becomes] sort of film noir but slightly surreal. The analogy that comes to mind is David Lynch. I’m interested in looking back at this play and drawing out those resonances in terms of how we stage it and in terms of the mood.”
Set in the pre-Internet, pre-smartphone era of the ‘90s, ‘Speaking In Tongues’ delves into the seedy underbelly of suburban life, where everything is not as it seems and people aren’t always who they say they are.
“There are nine characters who all have secrets – either being unfaithful or they’re not who you think they are and you’re not quite sure who’s looking through the blinds,” Humphrey says.
“There’s a veneer of normality and middle-class, small-town, suburban world, but behind that world is something darker and more unknown, and that’s that vibe of Lynch. It’s not as weird or way out as Lynch but it has that feeling.
“Andrew [Bovell] and I talked about whether he wanted to update the play or leave as it is. We agreed that we would like to leave it as it is and leave it in that world before everyone had a mobile phone. Partly because it would really change the plot of the play quite a lot, you’d almost have to write a brand-new play.”
Black Swan State Theatre Company’s production of ‘Speaking In Tongues’ features a cast of four incredibly talented actors – Alexandria Steffensen, Catherine Moore, Matt Edgerton and Luke Hewitt – playing all nine roles, weaving their way through fractured relationships and missed connections.
“The play is not just dark and serious, particularly in the first half there is a lot of humour and lightness and playfulness in the script as well.”
“I’ve got four actors who play nine roles, which is how Andrew has written the play. In the first half they play these two married couples who are hooking up with each other separately, and then in the second half they play a whole new set of characters.”
Humphrey and his creative team are using a minimalist set and lighting design to invoke the fever dream atmosphere of suspense and suspicion characteristic of film noir classics such as Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet’ and Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’.
“The furniture and settings will be very limited, like just a sofa and a chair and some curtains or some light coming from the side,” he says.
“I think of [the characters] as being suburban, living on the outskirts of a smaller city like Adelaide or Perth but it might be anywhere. They’re living in identikit houses, IKEA-style furniture; we’re using curtains and blinds to symbolise that feeling of ‘what’s going on behind?’. Behind it there are secrets and mysteries.”
‘Speaking In Tongues’ plays Heath Ledger Theatre (Perth) from 23 August-14 September.
