When a silent nature retreat meets a group of urban runaways, peace and quiet quickly give way to comic chaos in Small Mouth Sounds, the acclaimed comedy by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Bess Wohl, playing at the Bille Brown Theatre from 13 October to 1 November 2026.
Set against the eerie tranquillity of nature, Small Mouth Sounds follows six strangers as they escape the chaos of city life for a silent retreat. What unravels is a riotously funny and painfully relatable portrayal of what happens when we’re forced to confront ourselves and each other, without saying a word.
In a first for the state theatre company, every audience member will experience the performance through their own set of headphones. The immersive experience brings audience inside the world of the play, ensuring no moment goes unnoticed, with every breath, sigh, suppressed laugh and whispered confession experienced up close.
Daniel Evans, Artistic Director of Queensland Theatre Company says the production offers audiences a new way to experience live performance. “Small Mouth Sounds is our first binaural production, and it’s exciting to be able to connect with audiences through a theatrical experience they may never have encountered before,” he says.
“The headphones bring you remarkably close to the action. You hear the smallest details, from a breath or a rustle to a suppressed laugh, and suddenly you’re not just watching these characters, you feel as though you’re on stage with them.”
“This production embraces technology in service of something very human, creating an experience that is intimate, surprising and unmistakably live,” says Evans.
The immersive audio experience will be brought to life by award-winning Brisbane-based collective Counterpilot, led by Artistic Director and co-director Nathan Sibthorpe, alongside comedy doyenne Bridget Boyle.
Sibthorpe says that unlike traditional theatre where audiences watch the action unfold, Small Mouth Sounds draws them into the world of the retreat. “The technology and live sound design allows us to play with audience’s sense of proximity and perspective in an instant,” says Sibthorpe.
“Paired with a script void of dialogue, we’re able to zero in on the sounds that often go unnoticed on stage, giving them space to become part of the story. There’s nothing like hundreds of people sitting in a theatre sharing a silence. We all know how easily it could be broken – one voice, one laugh, one slip – yet it holds, and that collective restraint is electric!” he says.
Small Mouth Sounds unique blend of comedy, technology and intimate storytelling asks what happens when words fail us, and how we find ways to be seen, understood and human together.
Co-Directors: Bridget Boyle, Nathan Sibthorpe | Featuring: Louise Brehmer, Stephen Geronimos, Judy Hainsworth, Kieran Law, Jodie Levesconte, Barbara Lowing, Anthony Standish | Set & Costume Designer: Isabel Hudson | Lighting Designer: Christine Felmingham | Composer & Sound Designer: Mike Willmett | Intimacy Coordinator: Michelle Miall | Fight Coordinator: NJ Price | Stage Manager: Georgia Gould | Assistant Stage Manager: Tia-Hanee Cleary | Writer: Bess Wohl
Small Mouth Sounds
Bille Brown Theatre, 78 Montague Road, South Brisbane
Season: 13 October – 1 November 2026
Information and Bookings: www.queenslandtheatre.com.au
Image: Stephen Geronimos features in Small Mouth Sounds – photo by Compadre Picture Co.