Then Silence

"It’s possible that Lygre's interminable, pretentious dystopian fantasia is more profound in Norwegian...Initially there is a modest sense of interest in attempting to discern the events and characters depicted, but that soon evaporates and is replaced by numbness...Ms. Sunde has taken this problematic material and nobly realized it with theatrical flashiness...They have given this minor, insubstantial and unsatisfying work a fine production." Full Review

"'Then Silence' is an ambitious effort. The driving force of the action rests on the idea-heavy scenes and an underlying lament for the selfish plight of humans...The moments that come across the most clearly are mainly to the credit of Seidel, who has a grounded, naturalistic delivery that is enjoyable to watch...Regrettably, the play ended with many unanswered questions left open for interpretation. But perhaps that is the point of the piece." Full Review

"'Then Silence,' more than anything, left me confused. It seemed like some of the common sense got lost in translation...The direction of Sarah Cameron Sunde lacked clarity...The actors seemed a bit lost themselves...Ultimately the show felt lackluster and didn’t come together as it could have. I felt lost and unenthusiastic, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find something of yourself reflected in this performance." Full Review

"The author means for his play to represent a fragmented world, and this it does. The performers, Morten Holst, Kwasi Osei and Christiane Julie Seidel are heroic. Just memorizing this mass of inchoate material is a feat...While ideally, the reach should always exceed the grasp, this pretentious exercise taxes the audience mercilessly. It’s the longest 90 minutes this reviewer has ever spent in the theater. The 'Silence' couldn’t come soon enough." Full Review

"'Then Silence' is a display of what happens when comedy becomes desperate in the face of inevitable death...Every moment is tightly wound in this vault...Ambivalence is entirely due to the 'bad' acting of the play’s leads, all of whom absorb and reflect all the necessary moods and tones...Lygre’s mixture of comedic styles and intelligent critique (of our self-perceptions and political ideals), for all its concision, does occasionally tumble into peculiar and off-putting mannerisms." Full Review