The Roundtable Ensemble

Silence is a contemporary comedy set in medieval England that follows the fate of a feisty French princess who is commanded to marry a young Viking Lord with a shocking secret.

On the young couple's wedding night the King of England decides he should have married the princess himself, forcing the newlyweds to set out for the Viking outpost in the north. The resulting road trip causes each of the characters to examine their views on nationalism, religion, language, gender, intolerance, tyranny and class.

Drawing inspiration from historical fact and the Thirteenth-Century French Romance of the same name, Silence was the winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for best English-language play by a woman.

Silence played in rotating repertory with The Taming of the Shrew and The Mammy Project.

A High 5 Pick of the Week.

Chosen as one of the New Theater Corps' Five Favorites.

Moira Buffini's Silence renders her audience spellbound. Each member of Silence's first-rate cast conveys a necessary dramatic element to evoke emotion and honesty. Boosted by its shining performances and clever writing, Silence conveys a much-needed message of hope . . . providing a few laughs along the way for good measure.
          - Nicholas Luckenbaugh, Show Business Weekly

Shenanigans abound in this fast-paced, silly "chase and run" comedy that has a motley crew of people fleeing from King Ethelred's wrath and rule. A coming of age tale with a dark ages backdrop, Silence delves into topics such as paganism, brutality, Christianity, class distinction and much more with verve. Between the rather keen observations made on religion, royalty, and gender roles, there are enough dramatic twists to propel the story forward.
          - Cindy Pierre, New Theater Corps

If you've been pining for a really well-written contemporary script and you've yet to encounter Moira Buffini's Silence, do yourself a favor and catch the Roundtable Ensemble's production. While taking on rather serious topics, Buffini ably rolls out the one-liners, and director Suzanne Agins gets comedic timing from the cast in even the most unexpected places.
          - Lori Fromowitz, Off-Off Online

Looking for something to talk about? Silence, a contemporary comedy set in the unflinchingly serious Dark Ages, offers plenty of solid observations on heathens, religious woes, sexual ambiguity, and tyranny. The show hurtles forward, filled with a melange of amusing topics and a series of surprising twists.
          - Aaron Riccio, New Theater Corps

Moira Buffini's play Silence . . . provides the Roundtable Ensemble with a nice mirror for The Taming of the Shrew, the play with which it, along with Michelle Matlock's The Mammy Project, is being presented in repertory. Like Shrew, Silence is about a sassy, difficult woman in a world of men - in this case, medieval England.
          - Gwen Orel, Back Stage

Read Managing Director Joshua P. Weiss' interview with nytheatre voices here.