An Awful Silence

I have breathed life into a dead body. By the time he grows a beard even his mother will not recognise him.

– Dr Tree (David Tinkham)

Of all the thrillers I read in the playwriting competition, it was the only one which seemed to me to work on its own terms. It has style, which is a rare thing to find in a thriller and is an incredibly hard thing to define. What I mean is that it is not ramshackle. It has a sense of humour and a bizarre plot.

– Director David Stevens on what attracted him to Vincent Ley's script, The Listener, 2 December 1972

... a good and effective thriller which just happens to be set in New Zealand. If the public like to think of it this way rather than looking to find the Great New Zealand Play, then I think they’ll like it.

– Director David Stevens in The Listener, 2 December 1972, page 10

It had the sonority to deal with the quasi-religious tones of Dr Tree’s mission . . . as well as the colourful colloquialism of the day-to-day dialogue that unravelled the mystery of these outer beings and their work.

– Reviewer Susan Miller in The NZ Herald, 6 December 1972, page 11

There's an old saying that has stood me in very good stead. Never try to explain. Your friends do not expect it, and the others would not believe you anyway.

– Mrs Oliver (Davina Whitehouse)

One of the key things is Mrs Oliver's old house . . . We spent weeks looking at every old house in Wellington and began to despair. And then we found a place that was marvellous, with all sorts of bizarre rooms. It's called Charnwood and it's about 100 years old.

– Director David Stevens on finding the main location in Lower Hutt, The Listener, 2 December 1972, page 10