Hush: A Verbatim Play About Family Violence

Content Warning: Discusses family violence, maybe potentially distressing.

With humanity, simplicity and occasional humour,  hush  stages family violence stories, giving insight into a complex issue that touches the lives of many New Zealanders.

In 2009,  hush  was created – from the testimonies of New Zealanders who have encountered family violence – by Hilary Halba, Stuart Young, Cindy Diver, Erica Newlands, Simon O’Connor, and Danny Still, with guidance from dramaturg Fiona Graham. Carving in Ice Theatre is privileged to have been given permission to stage  hush  in Hamilton.

hush  draws  us in to sixteen varied and personal accounts of family violence. These are told verbatim, in the words of the original interviewees: five women  and men (Rose, Doug, L.E., Amanda, Jessie) who have suffered and/or inflicted physical and psychological  abuse, as well as the professionals (GP, counsellor, psychotherapist, family court co-ordinator, police officers, lawyer, agency worker, prison nurse, age concern social worker) and a neighbour – who are involved.

Eight actors convey the stories of these sixteen individuals. The testimonies and their delivery are both highly idiosyncratic and yet they resonate  with meanings and relevance for everyone.

“The total non-embellishment and the frankness of the accounts offer a kind of safety and serenity, so that anyone watching who has family violence issues of their own may potentially get to consider their situation with a new objectivity in this realistic yet unthreatening environment.” – Nik Smythe, theatreview, 2010.

After every performance of  hush, audience members will have the option  to stay for a forum moderated by a qualified  community psychologist, clinical psychologist or consultant. The director and actors will also be present.

A Carving in Ice Theatre production.
Directed by: Gaye Poole.
Cast: Julianne Boyle, Conor Maxwell, Missy Mooney, Kelly Petersen, Georgia Pollock, Nicolas  Wells, Jared Wooldridge, Sara Young.  Voice-over: Mary Rinaldi.