Shruti Tewari

"Love is that sickness from which we never wish to recover."
                                            --Stendhal


Jean Cocteau's La Voix Humaine (The Human Voice) is an intriguing drama unfolding in the form of a one - sided telephone conversation between a woman and her lover at the end of their passionate affair.

The character of Voix Humaine seems to be a rare bird out of the past, or another culture. But she is a creature of theatre, too. Just as people act in real life, she's "putting on an act" (though she denies it--and weeps); a serious, even desperate act, trying to keep the voice on the line; even though she knows the game's up, she continues to play it, to watch herself act out . . . intent on extracting an admission or confession, intent on staying in control while losing control, intent on playing out love to and past the bitter end. 

The Human Voice premiered at the Comedie Francaise in 1930 starring Berthe Bovy. Since then great actresses such as Ingrid Bergman, Anna Magnani, Liv Ullman, Carmen Maura and Simon Signoret have performed The Human Voice. Francis Poulenc gave it a vocal and orchestral score for his last Opera in 1959 with Denise Duval singing in French at the Opera Comique in Paris, at La Piccola Scala in Milan and on disc.

Today, Antares presents The Human Voice in the original format, directed by Anne Novak, starring Shruti Tewari, in the San Francisco Bay Area opening at the Berkeley City Club. Antares presents The Human Voice in English as a benefit for the American Concert Association (ACA) scholarship fund.

The Human Voice is sponsored by The ACA.