*WARNING: Reading past this point contains spoilers for each play*
Content Warning: In Depth
Small Mouth Sounds contains potentially sensitive or upsetting content. This content is detailed below. WARNING: READING BEYOND THIS POINT CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS
Joan and Judy, Alicia, Ned, Rodney, and Jan have all come to a week-long silent retreat for one reason: each of them is in agony, and each is here hoping to find some relief.
But the retreat does not unfold smoothly, and each character’s particular demons or personal quirks are revealed as things unravel. Loss, loneliness and physical pain are communicated through facial expressions, breathing patterns, and shifting postures.
We see Judy and Joan, as a couple, are struggling to bear the weight of Judy’s cancer diagnosis; Joan is fighting instincts to abandon Judy when she needs it most, while Judy is terrified of just that. We follow Alicia as she becomes increasingly obsessed with her phone and desperate to reach the boyfriend who recently became an ex—and when she turns to whoever she can find to distract her from all of that. We watch Rodney as he ditches his wedding ring on day one, silently snubs everyone else, exhibits his superior yoga skills at any turn, and jumps at the chance to be the first to disrobe for clothing-optional activities on the lake (Full nudity). We see Ned’s ever-unfolding string of misfortune—from falling off a mountain and shattering his skull, to his wife sleeping with his younger brother, to drinking and joining AA only for his sponsor to commit suicide, to his dog being run over by a car. And finally, we come to understand Jan as a grieving father, mourning the loss of his young son and searching for peace in sharing a joint with a fellow attendee he couldn’t communicate with even if the retreat wasn’t silent.