Silence! The Musical At The Turbine Theatre Review

Silence! the Musical is the unauthorised musical parody of the Academy Award-winning film The Silence of the Lambs. In both versions, Rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling matches wits with the psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, to catch the serial killer known only as Buffalo Bill. Bill has kidnapped another woman- can they save her in time? 

This 2005 musical was created by Jon Kaplan and Al Kaplan and originally premiered off-Broadway. It is based on the 1991 movie which itself was based on the 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. Music and lyrics are by Jon and Al Kaplan with the book by Hunter Bell. Silence! the Musical has recently completed a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe before coming to the Turbine Theatre. 

I haven’t seen the movie- I know, I know, it’s now on the top of my list. However, comments from audience members were that the musical is mostly truthful to the movie. You don’t necessarily need to have seen the movie, but there are definitely some in-jokes that make more sense if you have. In this production there is lots of absurdity and swearing and some British quirks. For example, Lector references the past few prime ministers and denies the famous “I ate his liver with fava beans and a nice chianti” instead claiming a sausage roll from Gregg’s was involved. At 90 minutes with no interval the scenes move quite quickly, so at times it’s a little hard to follow how they got from point A to point B, whilst at other times some songs went on too long and could have been shortened to keep the story moving. 

Writing this review a few days after seeing the production, there are three songs that remain in my mind. One is a song with an ‘unprintable title’ according to the brochure. This is the most catchy tune and is about the life Lector would like to lead outside prison. A dream-sequence ballet dance accompanies this song. The striking difference between the words and the sexualised movements of the dancers led the audience to laughter. I enjoyed the Argentinian tango-style song between Clarice and Lector. To mirror the theme of the song the ensemble moved the seats the leads were sitting on in a circle. ‘My Daughter Is Catherine’ where Catherine’s mother is humanising her and asking for her return was the most impactful song and a change of pace from the comedy. 

Tony-award winning original creatives director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Wonka, Newsies The Musical, Death Becomes Her) and designer Scott Pask (The Pillowman, The Coast of Utopia, The Book of Mormon), reprise those roles for this production. Despite the small stage we get a sense of locations through the four black moveable panels with writing popping up to set the location, and some basic props. The production is low-tech using hand gestures for guns and soft toys Buffalo Bill’s dog; but shows that theatre can be produced on low budgets. 

Mark Oxtoby delivers the staring, non-blinking Lector chillingly well. Pheobe Panaretos as Clarice mimics Jodie Fosters Souther accent and commands the stage. Jenay Naima has a small role as Ardelia, but packs a punch with her vocals. The ensemble are all dressed in black with sheep ears and hooves, and act as a Greek chorus. They play a range of characters; and make fun of themselves doing so.  The cast comprises of: Jake Anthony as Buffolo Bill, Paul Ryan as FBI boss Jack Crawford, Matt Bond as Chilton, Tom Giles as Pembry, Sebastian Goffin as Dream Hannibal, Catherine Millsom as Catherine and Nathalie Marrable as Dream Clarice.

The Turbine Theatre is on the banks of the Thames next to the iconic Battersea Power Station. It was founded by and is led by Artistic Director Paul Taylor-Mills. Turbine Theatre’s motto is ‘powering the imagination’.

Silence! The Musical runs from 4th to 28th September 2024. Performance time is 7:30pm Monday to Saturday, as well as a 2:30pm matinee on Saturday. Tickets are available from £28-36.50. 

Address: Turbine Theatre, Arches Lane, Circus West, London, SW11 8AB

Website: https://www.theturbinetheatre.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/turbinetheatre 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TurbineTheatre/

#poweringtheimagination 

Written by Caitlin Neal