Silence by Moira Buffini

Secrets abound and secrets are found, but laughter lingers long and around.


Sounds of sickness and the smell of disdain open Silence. The tale of a beautiful princess betrothed to a young warrior who himself is unlocking the stages of puberty. From the very first scene it's clear that Silence bends a comedic ray and never disappoints.

Princess Ymma (Sophie Cleary) and Lord Silence (Rose Grayson) possess a strong and energetic love, their relationship carrying a lot of power in presence. Stand offish toward each other at first, the development of their time together builds such a relationship that their love for one another seems nothing less than real.

Nicholas Papademetriou is delightful and expertly funny in his role as the Priest. Despite being the one who believes himself to be the most grounded, it's a certain sideswipe defeat of his to walk into the minefield of cross play that he finds.

Johann Walraven as Ethelred the King displays a maddening show of stead and power toward the end. Bookends to this are a remarkably Howard Hughes-style introduction and a rather besotted do-anything-to-please gaze in the final. Shifts in demeanour and standing and his spiral into a dungeon of madness purely fantastic.

Eadric Longshaft (Paul Tassone) is brutish and a little on the strange side. His choice of underwear only adding to this oddly homoerotic nature of buff and brash. Andrea Wallis delivers a strong performance as the put-upon Agnes, maid to the Princess. Her efforts at keeping everything sane only lasting as long as the play is run. Quite the feat and never at once seen to be taken by the act of placating everyone else's needs.

With the changing of the set, the characters' monologues and thoughts, indeed the narrative, is far more forward than in the first half. Storytellers telling their story in a multipoint architecture with silence a large cloud hanging over the events in the second. An effortless transition between their conversations and the observations making for a clean and accessible read of the situation.

Moira Buffini's script is a light and punchy affair. With clean direction that makes great use of the stage area, the world of Silence is vibrant and joyous. A morose feeling toward the end departs soon enough when the entire journey rest solidly in the mind.

:: Silence, presented by B Sharp and Queensize Productions, is playing at the Seymour Centre until 28th May, 2006.

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Published May 2006 at The Program - NSW Stage reviews

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