When I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, cyborgs (the word is simply a contraction of “cybernetic organism”) inhabited the sci-fi realm. The electromechanical devices implanted inside them – usually after some terrible accident had befallen them – gave them additional powers and strength compared to the unmodified population; some chose to use these powers for good and others for evil. I certainly never imagined I’d meet a real one.
Fast-forward to March 2020 and, standing in front of us is Sophie Woolley, a white woman, of average height, with creamy-blonde hair (her description). She identifies as a Deaf Cyborg and over the next 75 minutes we will learn how she came to be that way and discover some of the insights she has accumulated on the journey.
Growing up in Harlesden as the hearing child of a deaf mother and hearing father, Sophie took on a lot of extra responsibility assisting her mother. She never imagined that she would lose her own hearing but, in her 20s and gradually, she did. Understandably finding this incredibly frustrating – a real rage comes through in places – Sophie still manages to find humour in describing communicating with her hearing boyfriend via an intermediary. “Match Boy” (because he chews matches like a Hollywood star; we never learn his real name) is away at sea so Sophie uses a telephone relay service. She types and “a very bored-sounding bloke in Liverpool” relays her words to Match Boy, and vice versa.
The decision to get the cochlear implants fitted wasn’t an easy one and Sophie devotes a substantial segment to it. On the one hand her mother didn’t think they’d work, and Sophie was put off by the demeanour of the surgeon whom she found over-confident and even arrogant; on the other she was finding being 100% deaf life-limiting and, after all, the surgeon’s confidence was based on a track record of success…
It’s Switch-On Day, Sophie’s family is gathered around her and a friend is filming her reactions as she finds out how much of her hearing has returned. Here is the mark of an expert story-teller: Sophie conveys an experience which the vast majority of us will never have and cannot really imagine in terms we can understand. She can hear breathing. It sounds like that of one of the worst of all the evil sci-fi cyborgs, Darth Vader. But it is her own. For the first time in a decade she can hear her own breathing.
It takes some time for Sophie to connect all the sounds to their sources. A noise “like a toad in a drain” turns out to be a family member talking to her. Mother’s hearing dog, Doggo, disgraces itself and ruins the Switch-On video.
Having her hearing back affects Sophie’s relationships with others, not least with Match Boy to whom she is by now married, and not always for the better. She has developed a cyborg super-power though: she can beam music straight into her head without anyone else being able to hear it, as she proves with what to us is a completely silent dance.
Sophie sees herself now as someone enhanced, both by her experiences and the technology implanted inside her skull. This, she declares as she rounds off the story so far, is the future. The suggestion of being able to choose cybernetic implants for ourselves in order to enhance our own capabilities faces us with a question. Will we use those enhanced powers for good, or for ill? The choice is ours.
This fascinating and moving production wouldn’t have been possible without Adrienne Quartly’s soundtrack which brings to life some of Sophie’s experiences; the same is true of Joshua Pharo’s sensitive lighting design and captions. Directed by Rachel Bagshaw, “Augmented” is on tour until March 25th.
Reviewer - Ian Simpson
on - 10/3/20
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