Following a critically-acclaimed run at Dublin Fringe Festival 2023, Ois O’Donoghue and Jaxbanded Theatre are proud to present HYPER, an exploration of Trans identity and the connection to the voice. Using voice modulation, HYPER discusses the prevalent link between Trans people and the hyperpop genre, and what it means to be Trans in modern Ireland.
HYPER follows best friends and bandmates Saoirse and Conall. When Saoirse’s gender identity shifts, they must confront the changing nature of their music and friendship as they prepare for their first live gigs following Saorise’s transition. This confrontation forces Saoirse to explore deeper parts of herself in the search for righteous and rioitous Trans joy.
From PG Music to SOPHIE to 100 Gecks, Trans people are pivotal to the genre of hyperpop. Within a music style that is distinct for its use of voice modulation, it is unsurprising that people who may have a complex relationship with their voice would be drawn to a genre which plays with the voice, and celebrates the unique challenges Trans people face.
HYPER’s use of voice manipulation is accentuated by the casting of Saoirse, with Transgender writer, director and performer Ois O’Donoghue and Cisgender actor Fiona Larmon both taking on the role within the same playing space. Ois plays a metaphysical, immaterial version of Saoirse that speaks solely through a voice modulator.
Self-aware and unabashedly Queer, HYPER is a rip-roaring Queer theatrical deep-dive into Trans identity and music.
