Originally directed by a personal favourite, Rachel Chavkin, Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl treks its way to the Segal Centre in a production directed by Caitlin Murphy. In this one act, 90-minute play, six individuals sign up for a five day silent retreat led by the mysterious “Teacher.” Whether running away from illness, loss, or a series of tragedies, all are in search of enlightenment, to varying degrees of success. It might be obvious to say that in this play, which includes little dialogue, it’s what remains unsaid that counts—but I can’t resist the urge to say it anyway.
The Small Mouth Sounds ensemble has incredible chemistry for a group of people who hardly speak to each other. Each character is given equal weight, even if only a tiny sliver of their story is revealed. This is how Wohl’s piece takes its audience seriously: nothing is ever completely spelled out for us. When the characters are asked by Teacher to write down their “intention” for their stay, we are only fed small hints as to this information. In other pieces, this might feel frustrating—but the mystery and ambiguity here feels natural. Only one character freely volunteers their entire life story in a monologue performed hilariously despite its bleak subject matter by Matthew Gagnon’s Ned.
Certain aspects of the play remain unclear. We are told that the retreat lasts five days, but the passage of time is uncertain, making their departure seem abrupt. Also, the nature of the retreat is a bit confusing. It includes lectures by (supposedly) well-known figures, though their names and the topics of these lectures are unknown. Furthermore, the characters are forbidden to speak except during the Q&A portion of the lectures. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a silent retreat? What are the lectures about, and who are the lecturers? And how many people are part of this retreat, anyway?
Luckily, we are too distracted by Murphy’s captivating direction and the cast’s both funny and moving performances to dwell too long on these questions. Each actor has the chance to deliver at least one touching moment, though some occur a bit too early in the play for them to count as character development.
Bruno-Pierre Houle’s set design is both delicate and functional, and the alley seating is used imaginatively and effectively. Martin Sirois’s lighting design and Rob Denton’s sound design interweave the realistic with the atmospheric. Truly, this production is a team effort, and it shows.
In the end, I’m not sure this show quite answers the question in its tagline, “How do you speak your mind when you can’t say a word?” Mostly, this is because almost all of the characters fail to remain silent right off the bat. However, the themes of communication and connection still shine brightly, and this production of Small Mouth Sounds makes for a lovely evening of theatre.
Small Mouth Sounds runs until March 1, 2020 at the Segal Centre. Tickets are $59 general admission, $56 for seniors, and $25 for students and people under 30.
Image source: Segal Centre
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