By Luke Voogt
The Hope Song is a play like no other, according to Grovedale actor Simon Finch.
The father-of-two plays Dave, a 36-year-old gay Indigenous man struggling with anxiety and depression, in the raw Surf Coast play.
The Hope Song is “verbatim play” based on Surf Coast writer Janet Brown’s interviews of seven people dealing with mental illness.
“The work she does is unlike any in Geelong or the Surf Coast,” Finch, 41, said. “You’re not trying to put on a character.”
The cast had never met the interviewees or seen photos of them before learning the scripts, which were verbatim copies of the interviews.
“You’ve memorised these lines to the punctuation and you’re telling them to the audience,” Finch said.
Reading Dave’s interview presented a unique acting challenge for Finch. The only window he had into his character was the interview.
The unemployed Dave had a great support network and partner, but was in the middle of a battle with depression, Finch said.
“The reason I do acting is so I can take a break from being me and inhabit a different person’s life.
“But saying (the lines) with the emotions pulled back a little has more potency than trying to overdramatise it.”
Finch met Dave (not his real name) during a showing of the play and admitted being worried about portraying him negatively or over-acting.
“The walk up to shake his hand was absolutely terrifying, but he seemed quite happy with what we did.”
The play was Brown’s first foray into verbatim theatre after decades of writing.
“I’ve been interviewing people for other writing projects for many years, and have always found it very interesting and humbling when people share their life experiences with me,” she said.
She hoped the words of her interviewees could give an insight into mental illness.
“They have been so insightful, frank and very generous by agreeing to share their stories,” she said.
Each interviewee nominated a song which uplifted them, which Brown incorporated into the play.
“I know that music – actually, the arts in general – and mental health have a beneficial nexus,” she said.
“Though the topic is quite serious, it (is) a very entertaining show.’
Lorne’s Iris Walshe-Howling directs the play following previous collaborations with Brown.
“I do love her innovative theatre work, which is so highly respected,” Brown said.
“I thought Iris’ sensitivity and her creative vision would align well with my concept for the project.
“Now it’s time for me to step back and let Iris and her talented team bring this project to the stage.”
Anglesea Performing Arts performs the Hope Song for its final shows on Friday night and Saturday at Anglesea Memorial Hall.
