The Truth APM, 22 March 2013
Another short play in the series
of excellent podcasts produced by the New York-based drama company.
Improvised by the seven-strong cast (Ed Herbstman, Ben Jones, Christian Paluck, Chet Siegel,
Louis Kornfeld, Amy Warren, and Amber Herbtsmann), this piece consists of a series of voices asking an (initially unidentified person)
why she has returned to her family after a seven-year absence. No one knew where she was, or whether she had moved or
even died; after a period of time everyone accepted her loss. Now that she has returned, she has put the family
into turmoil; no one quite knows whether to accommodate or reject her.
We hear the voices of various family members, including her spouse, their son, and her
father. Everyone tries to be pleasant, but as the drama unfolds, we discover that their principal focus of interest
is on themselves rather than on the returning woman. Her return has led to some uncomfortable familial secrets being
revealed, which no one really wanted to bring out into the open. Hence most of them want the woman out of their
lives, so as to bury the secrets once more.
The drama ends with the woman talking directly into the microphone and making a decision
- it might not be the right one, but it is the only course of action she can pursue.
Where Have You Been? is a disquieting
piece, reminding us of just how difficult it is to pursue family life, especially when one cannot get on with close
relatives. The producer was Jonathan Mitchell.
