Listening to Voices marks 10 years of changing the conversation

A groundbreaking Gateway Health creative project is returning to Wodonga, where its journey began a decade ago, for a special 10-year anniversary performance at The Cube Wodonga on November 23.

Listening to Voices began in 2016, bringing together lived experience, theatre, music and storytelling to challenge stigma and encourage a different understanding of voice hearing, trauma and mental distress.

Over the past decade, Listening to Voices has been performed extensively across Australia for universities, health professionals, students, services and community audiences.

Most recently, the work featured at the 2026 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Congress in Melbourne, reaching more than 1,500 delegates.

Under the creative direction of Catherine Simmonds OAM, Listening to Voices has given people a powerful platform to share their own stories and have their experiences heard, while challenging audiences to look beyond diagnosis and behaviour and ask:

“What happened to you?”

The performance has resonated strongly with audiences, who have described it as “powerful”, “profound”, “moving”, “raw”, “humanising” and “thought-provoking”.

Listening to Voices project manager and performer Kate Fiske said the relationships and shared purpose created through the project have been central to its longevity.

“This performance and project has not only brought together a group of people who connect deeply with one another, but also with a shared purpose – to change the way people think about mental illness,” she said.

“Over the past 10 years, the work has contributed to change in education and workplace settings and continues to be used to inspire future professionals. It shows us what can happen when lived experience is genuinely heard, valued and given a creative platform.”

The 10-year anniversary of Listening to Voices will be celebrated during Mental Health Month, under this year’s theme ‘Together We Thrive’.

For the Listening to Voices team, the theme reflects what the project has stood for over the past decade.

The milestone event will feature a special performance of Listening to Voices, reflections on its decade-long journey and an audience conversation.

The performance will be followed by a panel discussion featuring representatives from organisations and educational institutions that have engaged with Listening to Voices over the years.

Panel members will reflect on why they brought the work into their organisations and how lived experience performance has helped inspire students, educate workforces, challenge assumptions and influence professional practice. Together, their perspectives will demonstrate how a project that began locally has gone on to influence conversations well beyond the region.

The Listening to Voices anniversary celebration will take place alongside the Community Connections Expo, presented by Gateway Health and Peer Haven outside The Cube, Wodonga on Monday 23 November from 12pm to 4pm.

The free expo will bring together local groups, organisations, services and businesses offering practical opportunities for people to connect, participate, volunteer, learn, create and contribute.

Together, the two events will create a day that celebrates both the power of being heard and the importance of having somewhere to belong.

ogether, the two events will create a day that celebrates both the power of being heard and the importance of having somewhere to belong.

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