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Less is More in Small Mouth Sounds at Long Wharf Theatre

We live in times dominated by words, from sound bites and tweets to endless debates. Constantly interrupting to loudly make a point is acceptable behavior, and there’s a lot more talking than listening going on.

So that’s why Obie Award-winning Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl, now kicking off its national tour at Long Wharf Theatre, is such an intriguing concept.

How to describe it?

A pantomime with minimal words? Theater of the Absurd with a realistic bent?

Whatever you call it, the play forces the audience to pay attention to the most nuanced gestures on stage because if you stop actively watching to sneak a look at your text messages, you could miss an incredibly important detail or silent interchange and never catch up.

The play takes place at a new age-y retreat center embedded in the woods far from the sounds of the city where six urban dwellers come together, having taken vows of silence, to combat their different demons and grieve their unique losses.

The only consistent voice is the voice-over (we never see him until curtain call) of the retreat guru, spoken by Orville Mendoza, who gives Buddhist-like dissertations on the rules of the retreat: no cell phones, no talking, no eating outside the dining area, no sex, no cigarettes or nudity—except while swimming in the lake—and let’s just say the teacher ends up breaking as many of his rules as do his students.

The well-chosen ensemble cast under Rachel Chavkin’s sharp and dryly humorous direction, is a pleasure to behold as they awkwardly, heartbreakingly, hypocritically, ridiculously reveal to one another bits and pieces of who they are and the wounds they’re trying to heal. They fidget and rearrange their stuff, and give in to their electronic devises like relapsing addicts, displaying how impossible it is to practice mindfulness in this hyper-paced, technologically charged world.

Ben Beckley is the most likable, relatable character as Ned, whose life is one long litany of outrageous trauma dramas (yes, he breaks the talking rule early on). His expressions of awe and amazement at the antics of his cohorts are very amusing and although he’s a victim of every possible circumstance, one can’t help but feel he’s also a hopeful survivor.

Edward Chin-Lyn is the most comical and least dimensional character with his perfect physique, perfect meditation practice, and perpetually blissed-out expression. But he has feet of clay like everyone else, taking the naked-only-while-swimming rule well beyond the lake, and having sex with another guest, Alicia, a broken rule made worse when she finds out he’s married.

Played by Brenna Palughi, Alicia is one of the less interesting, engaging members of the group. We know she’s having boyfriend trouble and is constantly weeping and texting, but although one can’t fault Palughi’s performance, there’s just not a lot of substance to her character.

Joan, performed by Socorro Santiago, and Judy, performed by Cherene Snow, are the only two retreat attendees who arrive together as a couple. We learn that Judy has cancer and Joan is tired of dealing with it and their relationship is complicated—and hard to connect with.

The most vulnerable character is Jan, sensitively portrayed by Connor Barrett. When he finally speaks, we learn that he doesn’t speak English, making it even harder to figure him out. And so when we realize at the end why he has a child’s backpack with him, it’s all the more poignant.

Set designer Laura Jellinek has created the quintessential minimalist retreat—a simple and serene structure in contrast to the characters’ messy lives. Narrow, rectangular windows reveal the windy, woodsy environment outdoors in projections by Andrew Schneider that lighting designer Mike Inwood nicely illuminates to reflect the weather and time of day.

Small Mouth Sounds runs 100 minutes without intermission through Sunday, Sept. 24 at Long Wharf Theatre, Stage II (222 Sargent Drive, New Haven). For tickets, call the box office at 203-787-4282 or visit www.longwharf.org.