Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Aaron Bladen, Elissa Cooper, Mica Young, Daniel Henry, Kieron Mason, Ian Smith, Laura Mutch, Catherine Kenny.
Musicians: Pete King, Daniel Greenwood, Luke Moore, Beth Pollard.
Depending on your age, you might remember the glares, even visual examinations, some men received when they came back from the fields, deserts and jungles of World War Two, perhaps even closer to home in time, the Falklands’ War, the sacrifices made on both sides of the divide in Ireland, any conflict where the senseless of killing another human being for being in a different coloured uniform is brought home in the eyes of the affected and the screams that burn into the hearts of their loved ones; these are the memories of the sneer, the accusations of somehow being less of man just because you don’t want to die.
What people experience in war, in any circumstance in which is beyond the confines of straight forward existence, is not for us to judge, we can bit surely help ease the pain, listen, take heed of the warning. It is no wonder really that so many people came back from World War Two broken inside and then the insult of being told to suck it up, don’t let others see you cry, the disgust of being told to grow a pair or even man-up, this is place where we let down generations of men, boys, women and girls, this is the place where The Silence Between Us rages.
The complexity and anxiety of writing a debut play or musical for performance is such that so many aspiring writers tend to fall unfortunately at the first hurdle, the ambition of getting their thoughts down in such a way that the narrative never fails is missed by others. When the passion leaps off the page and into the hearts of the audience, that is when the hard work and late-night writer’s dread is worth it, and it is a feeling that should be congratulated and praised, a feeling that should be conveyed to Luke Montague and the entire team who got behind his superbly framed production, The Silence Between Us.
When told to fight, people forget about the person, especially in wars such as raged across Europe and the wider world during that dark period in history, ordinary people given a gun, told to hate, be bullied and then in their darkest moments, made to feel the scorn of those to whom scoring a point of derision is more important than understanding. it is an intricate social problem to attempt to write about, and one that Mr. Montague gets across with style and graciousness.
With wonderfully placed songs and music, of which the lyrics written by Holly Campbell, Daniel Greenwood and Pete King captured the essence of the characters’ hopes, dilemmas and pain with accurate, and biting precision.
It is to salute such an endeavour, a sincere appraisal of war of two fronts and the expectations on the ordinary human soul.
Ian D. Hall