''Silence'' is a 1999 play by

Moira Buffini Moira Buffini (born 29 May 1965) is an English dramatist, director, and actor. Early life Buffini was born in Cheshire to Irish parents, and attended St Mary's College at Rhos-on-Sea in Wales as a day girl. She studied English and Drama at Gold ...

, loosely based on the history of Dark Ages England but also drawing on

New Millennium In contemporary history, the third millennium is the current millennium in the ''Anno Domini'' or Common Era, under the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 ( MMI) and will end on 31 December 3000 ( MMM), spanning the 21st to 30th ...

concerns at the time of its writing. It is set in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

and on a journey between the two. It received its London premiere at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

in August 2005.

Characters

*Silence, Lord of Cumbria, a woman in disguise *Roger, a priest * Ethelred, King of England * Ymma, a princess from Normandy *Agnes, Ymma's servant *Eadric, Ethelred's bodyguard

References

1999 plays Plays by Moira Buffini Plays set in the Middle Ages Plays set in England {{1990s-play-stub