Episode 4
Whispers in the Storm
Through a haunting solo violin, Maggie gives voice to Nellie, the five-year-old part of her that held onto innocence despite years of incestuous abuse by her brother, enabled by her mother’s silence. The violin’s fragile melody floats above a swelling orchestra, embodying a child’s quiet resilience amid chaos. Wind chimes open and close the piece, framing moments of peace found only in solitude. Thunderous percussion and dissonant strings erupt like storms, musical representations of abuse, dissociation, and the mind fracturing to survive. Yet through it all, the violin never stops playing. Even when drowned out, Nellie is still there, tender, persistent, unheard but unbroken. The string section, symbolizing protective alters, offers distraction and harmony, shielding the child from the full weight of trauma. In composing this, Maggie finally let Nellie be seen and heard, not just by herself, but by the world. “Whispers in the Storm” isn’t just music—it’s a testament to the part of every survivor that dares to hope, even when the storm never truly ends.
NLM producer: Tanya Lee, Narrator: Peter Cousens, Composer and Story teller: Maggie Bell
Peter Cousens AM | Australian Actor
Peter is currently the artistic director of the Talent Development Project. He has worked in television, both as an actor and presenter. In the 1980s he guest starred in a number of major Australian television productions, including The Timeless Land, Earth Watch, The Sullivans, The Young Doctors, Sons and Daughters and The Restless Years. He then went on to take leading roles in Under Capricorn and Return to Eden.
Peter is also known for his work in musical theatre. Major roles include The Phantom in London's West End production of The Phantom of the Opera; he also portrayed Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Tony in West Side Story, Bobby in Company, Nanki Poo in The Mikado, Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Chris in Miss Saigon in the Australian productions. Cousens appeared in the 2015 television opera The Divorce. He has received a number of Variety Club of Australia awards for his work.
Peter has been featured on a number of cast albums, including as Chris on the International Symphonic Recording of Miss Saigon, and as Charles Makin on the original cast album for Australian musical The Hatpin.
In September 2006 he launched Kookaburra: The National Musical Theatre Company, a non-profit theatre company based in Australia, dedicated to musical theatre. The company closed in 2009.
In 2012–13, Peter produced and directed Freedom, starring Cuba Gooding Jr, William Sadler and Sharon Leal.
B.D. (NIDA), M.A. (CQU)
Cert IV (T&A)
Artistic Director - Talent Development Project
Ambassador - Neurological Research Australia (NeuRA)
Artistic Ambassador - CQU Conservatorium of Music
Patron - Freedom Hub