SILENCE
IS GOLDEN is a theatrical work for a speaking, running, jumping
violinist. It is a piece of outdoor theatre distributed on DVD, though
it was originally presented as a staged work in a concert environment.
Either way, it an extemporization on the prison soliloquy from
Shakespeare's, KING
RICHARD II. It enacts
both a performance of the soliloquy and a commentary on the text
simultaneously, combining a cornucopia of words and actions/images. In
addition to Shakespeare, there are extracts from Robert Burton's ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY
(1621), Saint Augustine's CONFESSIONS (AD 397) and
Thomas Sackville's
'Induction' to A MIRROR FOR MAGISTRATES (1559).
AUDIO EXCERPTS
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CREDITS/PRODUCTION HISTORY
King
Richard II / violinist-actor
Oliver
Lewis
SILENCE IS GOLDEN
was originally conceived for Oliver Lewis's recital at Dartington
International Summer School in 2002. A video documentation of a
site-specific performance was made three years later in the medieval
ruins of Godstow Nunnery, Oxford.
Read
more about SILENCE IS GOLDEN
in the WRITING
section of this website.