Review: SILENT at Solas Nua

There's "beauty in the dark" Tino McGoldrig tells us and in Silent that darkness has many, many layers. You see, Tino (named after silent film icon Rudolph Valentino) "once had splendid things", but has lost it all and is now living on the streets. There is the literal darkness of a theatre, the literal darkness of the night, and then there is the darkness that lives inside Tino, heavy and unrelentingly oppressive.

Over the ninety minutes that follow, we are introduced to Tino and his story. We hear about the suicide of his beloved brother and the havoc that event has created. We hear about the unraveling of a life, of a marriage, career, and fatherhood, as Tino battles memory, guilt, and substance abuse. Memories that unspool in undulating waves, like film from a canister, or suddenly become illuminated like the invasive flash of a camera bulb.

As Tino, Pat Kinevane is extraordinary. His movements are sinuous and sensual. He not only breaks through the fourth wall, but obliterates it, reaching into the audience's soul with his tale. As he literally moves between shadow and light, Kinevane's emotional portrayal of grief and survivors' guilt is hauntingly authentic. Of his time spent on the streets, Tino describes the most difficult hour as 4pm, when everyone else is hurrying happily back to hearth and home. It is an incredible peek inside the life of someone you may never had considered before, as you yourself race between destinations.

Under the direction of long-time collaborator, Jim Culleton, Kinevane ably commands the stage in this one-man production, but the sound design by Denis Clohessy is almost another character in and of itself, swinging between the ambient lullabies of the streetscape to the lush symphonic melodies that evoke the golden age of silent films. Both performances transport the audience from the dark of the theatre into the darkness that reigns within Tino's mind. Its uncomfortable in the best possible way and yet it is a safe bet that each audience member will find something of themselves in Tino.

And since this is an Irish play, amid the heavy stuff, there is plenty of humor - gallows and otherwise. Silent is not for the faint of heart and it is not to be missed.

Solas Nua's presentation of the Olivier Award-winning Silent runs through March 24 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Run time is 90 minutes, without intermission. For more information, including a schedule of post-show discussions, and to purchase tickets, visit solasnua.org.

Additional BroadwayWorld.com coverage of Silent can be found at /washington-dc/article/BWW-Feature-SILENT-at-Solas-Nua-20190226

Written and Performed by Pat Kinevane

Directed by Jim Culleton

Sound Design/Composition - Denis Clohessy

Costume Stylist - Catherine Condell

Choreography Adviser - Emma O'Kane

Dramaturgy - Gavin Kostick

Produced by Eva Scanlan