On demand from 16th November: The Silence & The Noise | Pentabus
Reviewed by Aimee Forsyth
5*****
Two teenagers. Daize (Rachelle Diedericks) and Ben (William Robinson). A drug addict’s daughter and a young man caught up in the drug trade. Natural enemies that become unlikely friends.
Daize’s mother is trapped in the clutches of an addiction fuelled by the drugs that Ben’s boss is supplying. She is lonely, desperate and so hungry that she eats cat food to survive. Through no fault of her own, her life has become a disaster. Ben is trapped in his own personal nightmare. Lured in by the glamour of money he has become a drug runner and cannot escape out of fear of violence from his boss. They are from opposite sides of a county line but drugs unite them. Can they save themselves and each other from a life of destitution and tragedy?
They meet on an abandoned sofa in Daize’s back garden and their relationship gets off to a precarious start. With Daize brandishing a knife, their dialogue is quick and cutting. Neither one is trusting of the other but through the writer’s (Tom Powell) clever construction, their words bring them closer in a dangerous dance of dialogue. A tension builds between them and the chemistry between Diedericks and Robinson is palpable throughout. Despite the threat and menace from the adult world, Daize and Ben find a sanctuary in one another.
A particularly touching moment is when the two characters embrace towards the end. The danger and fragility of the world around them is shown as they find a peace together. They hold still in each other’s arms whilst Ben holds a knife in his hand in the forefront. This is a beautiful piece of direction by Rachel Lambert and Elle While and feels like a perfect representation of the safety the two characters find within each other contrasted by the instability around them.
This story is relevant and urgent. It is informative and educational showing the desperate lives of young people who get caught up in the County Lines drug trade. It is authentic and painful to watch whilst at the same time bringing hope and highlighting the sanctity of human interaction in the face of desperation and heartbreak.
The Silence and the Noise, which won a Papatango Prize in 2021, is a deeply moving and touching piece of theatre which touches upon real and relevant issues.