Beyond Silence

When two women walk into an office, they are invited to sit down but one “Anna” (Sigrid ten Napel) moves her chair to sit opposite. This slightly discombobulates their host (Tamar van den Dop) and, for that matter, us too. Are they antagonists? Well no, they are sisters and “Anna” is there to interpret for her deaf sister “Eva” (Henrianne Jansen) as she complains to the university dean of an alleged assault by one of her professors. Over the next fifteen minutes or so, we are immersed in both a physically and emotionally uncomfortable scenario as the frustrations of “Eva” are born out. Initially verbally via her sibling, then via the detailed writings from her diary and then finally, she resorts to something akin to a reenactment of her treatment as she tries to convince the obviously quite sceptical dean. All three performances are compelling here, but it’s as much the scenario that unnerves as it spotlights how we communicate with each other and of how easily that can be compromised when we are not all using the same terms of reference. It’s a three way conversation with everyone “speaking” at the same time, and this illustrates the confusion and irritation when both “Eva” and the dean try to make themselves understood during an increasingly fraught conversation. Needless to say the dialogue also plays a significant role here, and the nuances of both the spoken and the signed language is cleverly captured by Marnie Blok in this taut drama.