The eavesdropper: Listening-in and overhearing the voice in performance

What is so compelling about the voice of a stranger? In lifts, trains, cafés and on the street, I casually strain to hear details of the lives of others. This may not necessarily be an intrusion (I couldn’t help but overhear … ), but it figures voice as borrowed, and easily – often unknowingly – lent. I have begun seeking out opportunities to eavesdrop, testing out which public places offer the best scope for listening while actively trying to draw the least attention to myself. I have started to have long conversations about what eavesdropping means and how it works. Eavesdropping might tell us something about how we listen more generally, and how we might think about voice in performance. Or maybe I just like listening in.