by Jeffrey Fereday
1988
A woman prepares to speak to an auditorium full of men.
She fears she is late but there is time enough to hesitate before the trial of her appearance. She struggles to find her voice, to summons the authority, to project past the harsh glare of stage lights, to be genuinely heard.
A man appears. He claims to be the caretaker and an expert public speaker.
She must negotiate his menacing presence and reclaim her right to speak.
Photo: Sioban Tuke and Faruk Avdi in the play's first performance, La Mama Theatre, Melbourne, 1988.
