Permission To Speak (3MBS Fine Music Melbourne & Radio Adelaide)

By Leah Blankendaal

How would you describe your relationship your parents? Or your kids? Has this relationship changed from that which it was, say, ten years ago? Or twenty years ago? How will it change in the next ten years?

Permission to Speak is a new production by Melbourne company Chamber Made Opera that explores the impossibly complex topic of parent-child relationships. Based on real interviews taken from a range of people at all stages of life, Permission to Speak gives voice to a relationship that is quite often too difficult to discuss. 

I spent time with composer Kate Neal, director Tamara Saulwick while they were right in the middle of developing this work. I watched the creative team workshop some very difficult, very candid content in a musical and theatrical setting. 

It was a privilege to work with these creatives at this point in their process. As a musician, I learnt a lot about my practice; and as a daughter and a granddaughter, I questioned a lot about myself.

For more information on Permission To Speak, visit the Chamber Made Opera website.

_{This piece was made for the CBAA's National Features & Documentary Series 2016, a showcase of work by new and emerging Australian community radio producers, with training and mentoring provided by the Community and Media Training Organisation. The opinions expressed in National Features & Documentary Series content are those of the individual producers or their interviewees, and not necessarily shared by the CBAA or CMTO.}