*AD – this experience was gifted to our family for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.
Dann and I went along to see Silence at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch which is a powerful and emotional performance that features a collection of stories around the 1947 partition of India into West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). These stories contain a lot of violence and trauma, which is why they often go untold, and these stories, coupled with not being taught in schools in Britain, have left a lot of this history to fade away. Silence has been adapted from Kavita Puri’s book Partition Voices: Untold British Stories.
Many of the stories were told by having characters set up to record their story, for some sort of documentary. Silence starts out light hearted, showcasing the story of two individuals who were born and raised in England. One has a history of being from India and the other Pakistan. They were currently getting married and wanted to be apart of this documentary to talk about how their culture was sort of unknown for them, that they hid it from others due to bullying, and that they didn’t even know much about where their parents or grandparents came from. As they both were getting married, they wanted to explore more of their culture, learn the language of their parents and see the countries that they came from.
These stories then shifted to be from people who had lived through the partition, talking about their experience and what they did have to live through. Very quickly it became clear why people didn’t want to talk about their experience. They had experienced death of their friends, separation of their family, making decisions at a young age that they shouldn’t have been left to them. The partition lines were drawn by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who hadn’t even visited the country he was dividing by religion, uprooting many people and causing a lot of death and violence.
Being an American living in Britain, I really hadn’t known much about any of this history, nor had my British born partner, Dann, because it’s not taught in schools. These stories were emotional, intense, and told through pain-filled faces. Some of the stories being recorded had family members helping them talk through them, while others just had them reliving their experience and their pain for the greater good of keeping this history alive. Silence is moving, full of stories that shouldn’t be forgotten, and is presented without a bunch of bells and whistles to focus on the stories themselves.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!
Wow, I can even tell from the photos that this was a powerful and emotional performance! I feel like there is so much rich history that is not taught in schools regardless of where we are in the world. Thank you so much for sharing! This post helps bring awareness to past experiences and also this must-see performance
I really enjoyed learning about the storytelling approach used in the Queen Theatre production. The way the narratives transitioned from light-hearted exploration of cultural identity to the poignant accounts of those affected by historical events struck a chord with me. This blend of personal experiences and historical context provided a rich and immersive experience, allowing me to engage deeply with the stories being told. I found such value and appreciation in this form of storytelling, and it left a lasting impression on me.
I would absolutely love to see Silence. I think it’s so important that stories like this are told so they’re not forgotten.
Now this is definitely something I’d love to witness in person! Sounds like such an amazing experience.
It sounds like a great play wow! Thanks for sharing I loved reading about it!
An insightful read! It’s heartening to see ‘Silence’ bring to light the untold stories of the 1947 partition of India, shedding much-needed light on the violence and trauma endured during that time. It’s a poignant reminder of the importance of preserving history and the impact of overlooking certain narratives. Kudos to the adaptation from Kavita Puri’s book, ‘Partition Voices: Untold British Stories.
“Silence” sounds like a very powerful and moving play. If it’s ever brought to the states, I’d love to see it!