respect. dignity. hope.

Some reviews of Voices: The Carrical Project – a recent theatrical performance telling the true stories of some Servants residents. We hope you caught it!

Eternity: http://eternity.biz/cafe/voices_the_carrical_project/
“Set in a boarding house in Melbourne’s western suburbs, Voices speaks to the small-minded jerk in all of us which whispers judgement on the mentally ill, drug-addicted or downtrodden. And it manages to do it without resorting to cliché.”

Time Out Melbourne: http://www.au.timeout.com/melbourne/theatre/events/1684/voices
“Based on true stories, Voices is frequently challenging, but these confronting stories are delivered with humour – which provokes laughter as often as it brings the audience to the verge of tears.”

Theatre People: http://theatrepeople.com.au/reviews/voices-carrical-project
“Finally, the show I’ve been waiting for. Voices: The Carrical Project, brought to us by Candlelight Productions, has everything you could ask for – a clever script, a well-made set, thought-out costumes, expert direction and most wonderfully, it was Australian.”

Watch a mind-blowing mini documentary of the first season of VOICES, performed and devised by Scotch College boys! It features real-life experiences of Carrical House residents that suffer(ed) from psychosis, bipolar disorder and depression. The reality is, mental illness can hit anyone at any time. VOICES shares the lives of men like these, but even more so the Hope that can arise out of these situations. Don’t watch it if you’re not ready to be challenged!

An article on our partnership with Scotch College that resulted in Voices: Read Melbourne Weekly Article in a new window.

Rehearsal footage and interviews from Candlelight Productions’ season of Voices: The Carrical Project:

Servants Community Housing and our CEO Matt Maudlin are featured in today’s The Age newspaper:

A Piece of Heaven
“I think people have stories that need to be told. These stories of rooming house residents are rich and varied and beautiful stories and often serve as cautionary tales as well. Whilst putting a roof over someone’s head is important to me, creating a sense of community and space and belonging for a resident is also important to me.”

Brief Video Interview (2:38)

Full Interview Transcript

This morning Clayton spoke to the two men behind the new theatre production, VOICES – The Carrical Project.

This is the story of the men who have been through Servants Community Housing in Hawthorn. Although the script is not based on any specific person, it is the fusion of a number of stories of men with mental disabilities and their life in the house.

You can listen to the podcast of their chat below, featuring an online exclusive insight on the deeper aims of this production.

“Voices” – Matt Maudlin and Eugene Wong by 89.9 LightFM

A group of Scotch College students wanted to do something for the homeless in their city. So they got to know some homeless men from a local boarding house and recorded their stories. Now it has become a powerful play called VOICES.

Eugene and Matt talk with Leigh Hatcher from Open House by CandlelightProductions

Servants is pleased to announce that VOICES: THE CARRICAL PROJECT will be showing from Thu 1 – Sat 17 September. VOICES tells the stories of men with mental illnesses who live in one of our rooming houses. Based on true stories, it explores the tragic loss and debilitating stigma of mental illness and the creativity, character and hope that spring out of it.

Moving, funny, unsettling and heart-warming – see this if you’ve ever met, cared for, judged or worked with someone with a mental illness… It might change your life. See the attached flyers for more information.