Actions speak louder than words in this charming, wry comedy by American playwright Bess Wohl, set at a silent rural retreat. Six participants from the city, each with emotional baggage, gather for a week-long spiritual course run by a guru who still has some way to go on the transcendental front himself. By the end of the 90-minute play, nothing earth-shattering has happened, but we have briefly come to know six very different people, and shared some touching moments with them. In a first for the Bille Brown Theatre, each audience member will be given their own headphones, which will tune them into every surreptitious whisper, heavy sigh and smothered snort-laugh within the silence, enhancing the intimacy. Bridget Boyle and Nathan Sibthorpe co-direct.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

In the overwhelming tranquillity of nature, six runaways from city life embark on a silent retreat. As these strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with their achingly human need to connect. Check-in and chill-out with this wayward group of misfits as they attempt to find their purpose, a little peace and maybe themselves … all without saying a word!

In Small Mouth Sounds, award-winning playwright Bess Wohl crafts “a play unlike any other” (Huffington Post) where silence is mandatory and comedy is inevitable. Awkward glances, suppressed ugly-crying, and the occasional yoga-induced meltdown become a symphony of human relationships.

This is storytelling at its most inventive — recognisable, raw and deeply relatable. Filled with insightful humour, this unique and compassionate play asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.