PH
In theater, silence isn't necessarily an absence of dialogue.
A pause can change the emotional meaning of everything surrounding it.
A long silence can create tension, uncertainty, embarrassment, anticipation, or even comedy.
Performers and directors can therefore treat silence almost like another line of dialogue.
The audience also participates by interpreting what the silence might mean.
A character refusing to answer can communicate something different from a character simply having nothing to say.
In performance, what isn't spoken can therefore become part of the script's meaning.
Sometimes the most powerful moment on stage is the moment when nobody says anything.
© National Theatre