Small Mouth Sounds
Image: Yalin Ozucelik, Jane Phegan, Justin Smith, Dorje Swallow, Amber McMahon & Sharon Millerchip.
Photo: Robert Catto
When theatregoers read the synopsis of this play, they will learn that this is irrefutably the most unconventional and uniquely entertaining theatrical production ever staged.
The comedy/drama surrounds six characters who send themselves off to a silent spiritual retreat in the Blue Mountains for mental healing. Accomplished theatre actress Sharon Millerchip who has previously mesmerised audiences with her performances in Cats, Phantom Of The Opera and Into The Woods, plays the role of a sex education therapist, who is experiencing an emerging trauma in the relationship with her partner.
“When I first read the script I thought, this is pretty off the wall! How do you make a play that runs for 100 minutes set in a silent retreat where people don’t talk!” laughed Millerchip. “I thought this was going to be a cinch with no lines to learn, but it’s much harder for that fact. You have to be so specific and we learn all these gestures and reactions and movements and sounds as you would learn choreography or scripts. It’s quite intricate.”
With the exception of a couple of monologues, interspersed narration and a few words and exchanges, the dialogue is minimal. ”There’s just enough so audiences don’t go quietly mad! Intense and very funny there’s a lightness to it because it isn’t burdened with much dialogue, so it skips along beautifully. All the minute things that we do that we and others don’t take notice of like slight gestures and involuntary gasps are amplified in this environment and they tell so much story. Because there’s not much dialogue you also get to the core of who the characters are.”
Small Mouth Sounds was the 2016 critics pick of three major New York publications and Millerchip explained that the accolades were justified. “People go to the theatre to watch this play and they think, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’ve never sat in the theatre and had an experience that’s been performed for me stylistically in this fashion.’ This play resonates with audiences because it’s incredibly inventive and special.” (MMo)
May 3–26. Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Eternity Playhouse, 39 Burton St Darlinghurst. $46-$59+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.darlinghursttheatre.com
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