The National Theatre is to stage the world's longest silent play. For one hour and 40 minutes, 450 characters played by 27 actors will utter not one single word.

Austrian playwright Peter Handke's The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other is to be given 30 performances at the National.

"The point is to explore what's left when you remove language - and the answer is that there's a huge amount," James Macdonald, the British director of the play, explained.

The play is set in a city square through which hundreds of characters - including a bride, a businessman, a roller-skater, a playwright, Charlie Chaplin, Tarzan, Abraham and Moses - drift.

There is no plot and virtually no character appears twice. The idea apparently came to Handke as he sat at a cafe on an Italian piazza watching strangers come and go.
go

What? No Jesus?

Wouldn't that play end perfectly if a mime were to come out at the end and shout at the top of his/her lungs: THE ENNNNNNND!!

Wow, something like this will really put the mind to work...It sounds like you anaylze what each character's performance is and make your own conclusions....It sounds very different, but I'm not sure I could sit this long in complete silence....Imagine having gas, and there's no sound to cover it....

Oh Onyx, don't hate me for this, but I don't think mime's talk....... Sorry now I get it ...I'm tired...

...Your allowed.

Not to mention people snffling, burping, coughing, asking what did he mean by that, and shut up and watch, etc...Basically the audiance is going to be all you hear,and as interesting as a play like that might be to experience, it,s a long time to sit and listen to the audiences activity IMO.

It would be interesting. And I would love to see it.

But it would be nice to have somewhat of a plot though. And not just total randomness. But with roller skaters and Tarzan, sure, I'd watch it.

Lets not forget a Snorer in the audience. I have a feeling without sound that it may put some people to sleep.

:yes:No doubt more than a few, and some very loud WTF did you do that for? after being elbowed in the ribs for it!

Mel Brooks already pretty much did in this in Silent Movie.

[Besides, from the beginning of English drama until late in the 1800s they very often had somebody whose job was pretty much to do that. And for a long time, every play had a dumbshow where they did a silent, condensed version of the play so people could figure out what was going on later.]

--Jaylemurph

HAHAHAHA!

its like a conumdrum or whats that special word for like something doing something its not meant to....ahh broken

I havent seen it, and this may be a horrible generalization, but it just kind of seems like one of those "just cause you CAN doesnt mean you SHOULD".

I could be completely wrong about that though...it might be completely wonderful and enlightening, but all I can imagine is 2 hours of Marcel Marceau.


...shivers...

Hmmm...Sounds like something I would go see...