3rd of the Robert Holman Triptych: Making Noise Quietly ****

Donmar Warehouse, London

EXCERPT: "To go with the superior acting abilities of the third play’s cast, director Peter Gill had clearly also woken up and started to do his job."

To go with the superior acting abilities of the third play’s cast, director Peter Gill had clearly also woken up and started to do his job. An unusual set of characters have been thrown together in a wood: a silver-haired woman who had suffered at Auschwitz (providing the war link that connects the triptych) puts up a mute boy and his violent stepfather after the mother abandoned them both. In a fascinating depiction of how the three generations interact, through what we see and are told, we learn a vast deal about each person and how their relationships with people - both present and absent - inform their behaviour. What makes this more than just a recital of their characters’ personalities is the presence of the young boy, whose persona is modelled and formed before us as he responds to situations we see. There is a beautiful harmony in the way in which the characters’ personalities become more set and stable as they move up the age hierarchy and a wonderful simplicity with the play’s focus on cause and effect.

Elegant and poised, Sara Kestelman as Helene Ensslin possesses fantastic control over her voice and gestures. Great child actors are hard to come by but Jack Boulter as Sam plays his (admittedly limited because mute) role with finesse, getting just the right balance between vulnerable and spoilt. Ben Batt as Alan Tadd provides the strong middle link to the trio, engaging credibly with the conflicting inner emotions of love and violence which characterise his treatment of the boy. In terms of characterisation, the progression of the play and issues it addresses, this play and production are so much better developed they are barely recognisable as being the work of the same playwright and director. Everything, right down to the three solitary long trees and dappled lighting, is powerful in its simplicity, rather than lacklustre and underwhelming as the two previous performances indubitably were.

Making Noise Quietly was performed at the Donmar Warehouse. For tickets to other events showing there, please see the Donmar Warehouse website.