b'Musical Mimicry and Identity in The Rise and Fall of Little VoiceStella LarmourStella Larmour examines the character of Little Voice in Jim Cartwrights play and teases out the connections between voice, identity, music, and memory. What does it mean to find a voice of ones own?Jim Cartwrights 1992 play The Rise and Fall of Littlein her existence that it defines her in the eyes of Voice tells the story of a girl (Little Voice) living inother people. Her impulse is to sing to conjure up reduced circumstances with her widowed and dys- the happier times when her father was alive. As functional mother (Mari) in a Northern seasideKonstantinos Thomaidis puts it, the shy body of town. Despite being painfully shy, she possessesLittle Voice is overtaken by the recorded voice in an extraordinary talent for mimicking the sing- an attempt to achieve contact with the lost parent ing voices of great singers such as Judy Garland,and a sense of full-bodied presence (2017: 60). Edith Piaf and Shirley Bassey. The play concernsHer conscious motivation is a deeply personal her discovery by local agent Ray Say (who is herlove for the songs, and she admits to Billy, I sing mothers lover), her sudden, brief and reluctantin these voices. I. I hardly know I do it. Its just rise to local celebrity, and how she finally tran- for me. Comfort. (1992: 49). Yet while she sings scends mimicry to find her own voice (Billington,in her bedroom for nobody but herself and as if 2018). Within this dramatic framework can benobody is listening, most of the people around found examples of music as a multifaceted ele- her do not understand that her need to sing does mentit is an aggravator, a comforter, an escapenot equal her desire to perform.Woyzeck, Staging the Text Module. Photo by Jon Primrose. route, and even a quasi-religious experience. It is an avenue for self-expression and a forger ofAs far as Mari and Ray Say are concerned, LV identity for Little Voice (LV), as most of the otherhas two personasone is the shy girl (a source of characters only pay attention to her when she isfrustration for them), and one is the singer (or singing. This playand the film that was made oflucrative performer, as they see it). They see mu-itdemonstrates how music is an integral part ofsic as pure entertainment to be capitalised upon, an individuals identity, both in their minds andand, consequently, LV is put into the same box through their public persona. In addition to this,as Rays artistes (1992: 19) in his world of show-music is seen here to impact the group identity,business. With this frame of reference comes both positively and negatively. I will consider thetheir checklist of expectations of how LV should relationship between voice and musical mimicry,look and act as an entertainer, none of which the theme of identity, and the influence of musiccan be reconciled with her extreme introversion. in this modern fairy tale. It may be difficult for an audience to rationalise LVs transformation, as her performing self (albeit Whether explicitly shown or not, there is a strongenforced) and her at home self are so polarised. sense of the impact of LVs father on her life. She has been exposed to his musical taste at aIt is helpful to understand why this facet of LV critical point in the identity-forming process, andis problematic by considering Philip Auslanders the music has become inextricably linked withtheory of performances component layers. Aus-his memory. This phenomenon is not consideredlander breaks down performance of popular music uncommon, as according to Ian Cross, inter- into three signifieds: the real person, the perfor-viewed for Radio 5 Live Science, we tend to formmance persona, and the song character (OCon-quite intense affective attachments to the musicnell, 2011: 318). Applying these three elements we heard in early teenage years when we wereto LV, we can recognise both the real person and forming our identity. That music tends to persistthe song characteror OConnells cover per-(2021). Maris description of the records as stucksona (2011: 317), which supplants the lyrically in her [LVs] head is somewhat accurate. LVs con- determined song characters during a cover perfor-stant recourse to her fathers favourite music is anmance (2011: 317). We understand the withdrawn act of remembrance that has become so embeddedreal LV and we can marvel at her starry act, but 64 65'