Houston audiences might remember Don X. Nguyen’s, The World is Not Silent from the Alley All New Festival in 2022. The multilingual play about a father and son reconnecting through language after the father’s recent hearing loss struck a chord at the festival. Two years later, in its World Premiere production, it more than strikes a chord. It hit all the right notes.

Several plays presented at the Alley All New Festival go on to be produced all across the country after having their world premiere at the Alley. Born With Teeth, The 2022 Houston Theater Awards winner for Best Play/Production, is currently running at Asolo Rep and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Don’t be surprised if The World is Not Silent enjoys the same fate.
Don (Tony Aidan Vo), an amateur astrophotographer, moves from New York City to Lincoln, Nebraska to take care of his father, Dau (Long Nguyen), whose hearing is getting worse with age. Wanting to show Dau his willingness to connect , Don surprises his father with the American Sign Language he’s been learning. Dau can not comprehend Don’s signing and through a humorous stumble of misunderstandings, Don learns that Dau has learned Vietnamese Sign Language instead of American Sign Language. Dau is Vietnamese, after all. Why would he learn ASL?

Much to Don’s chagrin, Dau invites the popular VSL YouTuber, LittleCricketLinh, to visit Nebraska and teach VSL to its Vietnamese community. Linh (Mai Le), also happens to be the longtime family friend Dau would like Don to marry.

Le gives a bubbly and bewitching performance as an outgoing free spirit- ever curious of the world around her. The lighthearted zeal for life and its wonders underlies each choice that Le makes. Vinh is introduced as a possible love interest for Don though never is her character contingent on Don’s attention. She takes pleasure in both her independence and her gift for connecting with others.

She is the antithesis of Don who in his desire to connect with his father ends up isolating himself even further. Le's vivacity contrasts well with Vo's more understated performance. What Vo lacks in overt charisma he makes up for with astute contemplation. Vo's performance is most comfortable when he is alone with his telescope and the imaginary viewers on his YouTube channel. He expresses all the frustrations that burden him during these intermittent soliloquies. On stage by himself, Vo utters the soundless grievances that distance him from his father. 
Nguyen’s shamelessly and humorously blunt portrayal of Dao brings steady laughter and bold insight about sacrifice and loss. With other characters, there's always a certain cheeky abandon to his interactions. It’s when he’s alone reflecting on his past life that his moments turn more serious. Nguyen’s ability to unlock the humor in many moments is obvious. However, his pride as a Vietnamese man never wavers. His banter never undermines his seriousness as a person. He doesn't veer into caricature territory. The way he balances both is a testament to a script that doesn’t pigeonhole the father and gives Dau space to be three-dimensional.

Under Marya Mazor’s clear direction, each element of the production exists in harmony with each other. Mikiko Suzuki Macadams’ scenic design is flexible. Jennifer Fok’s lighting relevantly fills in the space of the sparse set when necessary. With few set pieces, an indoor ping pong match and outdoor stargazing scene happen simultaneously due to Melanie Chen Cole’s resonant sound design and Victoria Beauray Sagady’s stellar projection design. Macadams’ set proves the ideal playground for Cole’s, Sagady’s and Fok’s contributions.

In theater, a lot of times projection design bores. Images are simply projected on screen to give a sense of place. But Sagady’s projections immerse. Her designs evoke the sense of being in a planetarium or even at the airport. Her contributions enhance the visual storytelling. More than providing the audience with where the characters are, Sagady’s projections are an invitation to be with the characters rather than to observe them.
Mazor clearly delights in both the comedic and dramatic moments of this story. Each scene builds and flows seamlessly together. A tight 90 minutes, Mazor wastes no time in establishing who the characters are but intoxicatingly reveals what each character wants.

The World is Not Silent is similar to plays like Brian Friel’s Translations or Julia Cho’s The Language Archive. Plays that grapple with the inevitable paradox of the spoken word: how language- a unifying tongue- divides and ends up highlighting differences. While American English and Vietnamese are spoken in this play, it is the sign language in the play — the expression of language through silence — that adds an acutely dynamic sense of depth and thought to the actions that take place on stage. For some reason, calling attention to silence makes everything so loud.

Beyond the spoken word, there are many ways that people express their affection to others. Some people are more reserved than others, but this play showcases all the ways that people say “I love you” without saying “I love you.”  Learning a new language, preparing a new recipe, showing interest in someone's hobby are all expressions of love. But sometimes, at the end of the day, all people want to hear is “I love you.”

Performances of The World is Not Silent continue through April 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, and 7 p.m. Sundays at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For more information call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $43-$75.