Rating: ★★★★
Venue: Bristo Square, Edinburgh
SILENCE! The Musical is the unauthorised musical parody of the Academy Award-winning film The Silence of the Lambs. As rookie FBI agent Clarice matches wits with the brilliant but insane Dr Hannibal Lecter to catch the serial killer known only as Buffalo Bill, a chorus of singing lambs breaks out into show tunes about the most horrific of subjects. Complete with singing serial killers, songs with unprintable titles and a chorus of lambs, SILENCE! the Musical comes charging at you with gleefully unstoppable bad taste.
The revival of this show has been eagerly anticipated since it was announced to be returning to the stage at the Turbine Theatre in Battersea for a limited 4-week run in September. And I can totally see why! It’s the very definition of parody, not only in plot but also manages to make a clever mockery of musical theatre in places. You certainly do not need to have seen the film to appreciate this show, in fact I went in almost completely blind with no prior knowledge of the story at all; only a vague knowledge of the existence of the character Dr Lecter portrayed in absolute perfection by Mark Oxtoby. He was the flawless embodiment of pure insanity and evil to the point where I felt genuinely uncomfortable and afraid at points. Likewise our leading lady Phoebe Panaretos creates utter magic on stage in a very difficult role and the pair fit the very definition of ‘the stars of the show’.
That’s not to overlook the ensemble however, multi-rolling as a bahhhh-rilliant show choir of tap dancing sheep, Lecter’s fellow asylum inmates, and everything in between with with skill and comedic timing that is nothing less than true perfection. Every moment of the show is crafted with clear and careful intent and balances the horror, comedy and poignant moments with ease.
There was a small but highly egregious section however that took me quite a while to recover from and certainly put a dampener on what is otherwise one of this best shows I’ve seen so far this year.
The rather distasteful number "Are You About a Size 14" pinpoints a vital moment for the detective in figuring out the case and so a number of its kind is essential to the plot, but this one does not hit the mark any more. In the past, many musicals that may have been a product of their time have had a song or two rewritten in revival to ensure their version of the show appeals to the audiences that will be watching it. SILENCE! the Musical was first penned in 2005 and the original cast recording was released on streaming services in 2011. The world has changed a lot since then and a number that fat shames women and equates a ‘size 14’ to being overweight in a world where the average female clothing size is a UK 16/EU 44 is no longer appropriate. The storyline itself doesn’t necessarily need any changes, but it’s definitely time for a new song to be written in its place.
This section of the show also contains the use of two ableist slurs for absolutely no reason other than to gain a cheap laugh, which they did, causing further discomfort. The use of this language is outdated and intensely inappropriate and adds absolutely nothing to the show and I sincerely hope this is rethought and removed before the show commences its run in London.
I can’t pretend that these issues didn’t exist or that ableist language is remotely acceptable and that’s what kept this show from an easy and solid 5 stars. But I really don’t want to leave this on a negative note because with some small changes it really would currently hold top position for the best show I’ve seen so far this year and is going to take London (and hopefully the rest of the world) by storm.
You can book tickets to SILENCE! the Musical, here.
Review by Rachel
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