Dr Glossa

Description

We hear white noise. A clock ticks on a tidy desk in a smart therapist\'s office as it approaches 9am. Dr Glossa sits behind the desk with his eyes closed and headphones in, and as he opens his eyes and takes his headphones out we hear a string quartet playing a slow, gentle piece of music. He picks up the phone and says \"send him in\". Each syllable is accompanied by a cello playing a gentle melody. A suited, sweaty man marches into the room and immediately starts ranting about his work and his family and why everything is still going wrong. He is accompanied by his own, more chaotic symphony, his words accompanied by a harsh guitar melody. Glossa nods along calmly. The man asks, \"are any of your other clients as messed up as me?\" Glossa raises his eyebrowsAs the clock guides us through the day, we see a sequence of clients. A moody t-shirted teenager isn\'t interested in being there and would rather be playing fortnite than talking about his parents\' divorce. His words are accompanied by harsh, jabbing synth sounds. A watch-watching corporate lawyer has worked it all out - everything is her mum\'s fault, and anything that isn\'t is her dad\'s fault, and nothing is her fault, yet she\'s still there in his office. Her words are accompanied by a discordant, high violin. A melancholic alcoholic is the only one who lies down on the couch, acknowledging that his life is a mess, but explaining that he just can\'t face the world in all its complexity. His slow, sad symphony is led by a despondent French horn. Glossa listens to all this, his quartet waning every now and then, and within each session he asks all his clients the same question: whether they think that their minds control their tongues, or the other way around? He is met with a mixture of confusion, acceptance and anger, and they all say goodbye.Glossa gathers his things and leaves the office. His calm quartet is now punctuated by his clients\' instruments. Someone bumps into him and he snaps an angry word, accompanied by a harsh synth. He takes a deep breath and puts his headphones in, sinking into the white noise, like so many of his fellow commuters on the bus. We jump forward to late evening, as he and his wife are filling the dishwasher and putting childrens\' toys away. His quartet is now being overtaken by the harsh instruments, and conversation with his wife turns into argument, which turns into a stand off. The silence is punctuated by a kids toy, playing a ridiculous version of a nursery rhyme, and they both laugh. He sits down hard, and his wife semi-forces him to stand and dance, \"don\'t speak, just listen\". They slow dance to their intertwining symphonies.

Biblical Connection

James 3:3-5. I\'ve always loved the way the bible talks about language and the tongue, and in particular the way that James talks about the tongue, and the analogy of a ship\'s rudder, and a spark. As a musician, the verse made me imagine a single instrument leading a band, or a trumpet leading an orchestra, and the significance of something small influencing something big. I thought that music could be a good way of highlighting the importance of the tongue over the rest of the mind and body, and a therapist\'s office felt like the best place to explore that further, as people are likely to be more open about their thoughts and situations. Glossa is the original Greek word for tongue, so Dr Glossa felt like a good lead character, and his challenge to his clients felt resonant with James\' challenge to his readers. And then in the third act we see some of the outcome of the power of the tongue, as Glossa himself is affected. And then for James\' challenge to be echoed back to Glossa by his wife felt like a suitable ending.