Melbourne’s late-night voices come to life at Malthouse

The anonymous voices of Melbourne’s night owls will take centre stage at Malthouse Theatre this August in an immersive audio work exploring the city during its quietest hours.

Playing in the Bagging Room from August 13 to 29, The Nightline invites audience members to sit alone at a table, pick up a vintage telephone and operate a switchboard connecting them to real voice messages left between midnight and 6am.

The recordings capture the thoughts and experiences of shift workers, insomniacs, truck drivers, emergency workers, new parents, prank callers and late-night revellers, creating an intimate portrait of Melbourne after dark.

The work was created by documentary theatre maker Roslyn Oades and ARIA Award-winning sound artist Bob Scott.

Originally commissioned for RISING’s inaugural 2021 program, its planned Melbourne premiere was cancelled when the city entered lockdown on the festival’s opening night.

Since then, The Nightline has travelled to Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, the Gold Coast’s Bleach* Festival and Canada’s Carrefour international de théâtre de Québec.

For each season, Oades and Scott collect a new batch of anonymous messages from the host city. Ahead of the Malthouse run, they again called on Melbourne’s late-night community to contribute, creating a new snapshot of the city’s inner life.

“There is a distinct, open-hearted honesty to the anonymous messages left for The Nightline under the cover of darkness,” Oades said.

Audiences will be guided into the space by “The Nightline Concierge”, played by Katia Molino, before being left to navigate the recordings.

The production strips away conventional theatrical spectacle in favour of close listening, with the switchboard gradually dissolving the distance between strangers.

Malthouse Theatre executive producer and co-CEO Vivia Hickman described the work as “an exceptionally delicate, moving portrait of a city in its quietest hours”.

“Since capturing the imagination of audiences across Australia and overseas, it is a privilege to bring The Nightline back to the city where it all began,” she said.

The production features design by Clare Britton, lighting and coding by Fausto Brusamolino and switchboard design by Greg Cameron.

Its anonymous message bank will remain open throughout the season, with later contributions potentially included in future iterations of the work.

The Nightline runs for 40 minutes at Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt St, Southbank, from August 13 to 29. Performances are held Tuesday to Saturday, with additional late sessions on Thursdays and Fridays. Tickets range from $35 to $45. •