It has been said that there are three kinds of silence in the theatre: the silence of emptiness, the silence of anticipation, and the silence that settles over an audience when something deeply recognizable is unfolding onstage. Small Mouth Sounds, while employing all three, belongs firmly in the third category.
Before language, humanity relied on gesture, sound, and presence to survive and connect. That primal mode of communication is at the heart of Small Mouth Sounds, a quietly revelatory play by Drama Desk Award winner Bess Wohl, presented in its professional Rhode Island premiere by Wilbury Theatre Group and sensitively directed by Tanya Martin, with a keen eye for rhythm, pacing, and physical storytelling.
The play brings together six strangers, three men and three women in their thirties, who arrive at a silent retreat in the woods, each hoping to escape the relentless pressures of life in New York City.
A calm, disembodied voice welcomes the participants and offers meditative guidance, reminding them that they have “come here to meet yourself.” Cellphones are verboten “except in the parking lot, inside your vehicle, with all doors and windows closed. No refunds, no exceptions. And, of course, no talking.” This imposed silence forces the six strangers to communicate in ways they aren’t used to, and the result is surprising, unique and insightful.
Whether they succeed in following the rules of the retreat is the dramatic question of the play, and the answer unfolds gradually, not through exposition, but through shared vulnerability. We come to see that the human condition on display here is not grand or philosophical, but deeply familiar: the fear of mis-connection, the ache to be seen, and the hope that intimacy is still possible, even without language to facilitate it.
In the enforced quiet, the characters must rely on a range of gestures, such as pointing, waving, and pantomiming to convey meaning and express themselves — sometimes accompanied by vocalizations, such as grunts, groans, and silent screams, which add emotional tone and emphasis to the communication, transmitting the characters’ anxieties, affections and doubts through facial expressions and physical movement. Nothing is spoken, yet we understand everything completely. What emerges is sometimes awkward, frequently disarming and often hilarious. Without words to protect them, the characters reveal longing, insecurity, desire, jealousy, tenderness, and fear with startling clarity.
Full of surprises, the Scenic Design by Keri King transports the audience to the woods, surrounded by trees and chirping birds. The superb acting by the ensemble cast — Beth Alianiello, Harry Aspinwall, Jennifer Mischley, Amie Lytle, Stuart Wilson, Olivia Hodson and Dave Rabinow — feels natural rather than choreographed, with each performer contributing to a precise physical vocabulary.
Under the precise work of the production’s director, Tanya Martin, the silence becomes expressive and eloquent. Humor arises organically from misunderstandings and self-consciousness. Laced with gentle satire, it makes a wonderful case for how eloquently silence can speak. When defenses fall away, the characters’ foibles and shortcomings are on display, which is often hilarious, sometimes embarrassing, and other times, insightful.
Small Mouth Sounds ultimately reminds us that language, while powerful, is not essential for understanding. Silence, when shared, can be just as revealing. It is theatre that listens as much as it speaks — and asks its audience to do the same.
Don’t let the cold keep you away. Wilbury Theatre Group’s Small Mouth Sounds offers an intimate, deeply human experience that rewards presence and attention, an evening of theatre that feels both bracing and quietly restorative. Step out of the winter air and into the woods; the silence is well worth the journey.
Small Mouth Sounds runs Thursday through Sunday, February 1-15 at Wilbury Theatre. For tickets, click here.
Judith Clinton is a playwright, producer and author, whose work explores myth, and transformation. Her plays and stories reflect her belief that storytelling can both heal and ignite change. She is Co-Executive Director of the Rhode Island Theatre Makers Roundtable ritheatremakersroundtable.com.
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