Another Eavesdropping was the fourth instalment of our unique verbatim theatre concept and played at The Jack Studio Theatre in September-October 2022.
 
Every word on stage was transcribed directly from overheard conversations had by members of the general public, which were loud enough to be eavesdropped by one of the cast.
 
Anyone who was overheard was a complete stranger to us, speaking in a public place. Any names and locations mentioned were changed before the scenes went to rehearsal and the characters simply denoted by a letter or number. The original location of where the conversations were eavesdropped was never disclosed. The sequence of vignettes was therefore anonymous. In rehearsal, we explored potential settings, characters and relationships in a bid to breathe life into the raw text before us. Our aim was to find an interesting dramatic context for each scene. They were musings, chats and rants which provided quite a unique window on the world. Some were funny, some tragic and others thought provoking. We had several hundred eavesdrops (gathered in July and August) to consider and selected the ones we felt best reflected the attitudes and opinions of those living their lives in and around London in 2022.
 
Reimagined, yes… theatricalised, yes… but every word on stage we heard spoken openly in a public place.