REVIEW: MY SILENCE GIVES CONSENT by Scott Weinstein at Lion & Unicorn Theatre 11-15 April 2023

‘one young man using his voice and talents to find a way to support the ‘other half of the sky’ ★★★ ½ 

Mao Zedong has famously been quoted as saying “Women hold up half the sky”. Yet, it seems as if the world often forgets that.

A digital clock reads “23:59” on a small black table next to a white chair. Writer and performer Scott Weinstein enters wearing white trainers and an oversized blue shirt. He sets up the premise for the evening: he is worried about his girlfriend going home late into the city night. He feels there should be something he can do rather than just sitting there, waiting for a text to confirm her safety.

Weinstein intersperses between the story of this waiting and his stream of consciousness questions about his role as a male in this world where he wishes to be an ally, even as he feels a member of the Enemy. He pensively compares empathy and pity and speaks of hope as being failure without action. At times, the narrative gets muddled through these ruminations and other times his thoughts flow almost poetically. Phrases such as ‘Arcs intertwine - her journey will never be mine’ made me wonder if this piece could have another life as a spoken word poetry piece.

With self-awareness, among his musings he admits that he wonders if he’s making it about him, as if he’s the victim. Weinstein also asks the poignant question whether it is just this one female for whom he is concerned, or all, whether his neighbour or someone across the world. He plays on the word ‘bystander’ and ponders whether it is standing aside or standing by ready for action. An especially memorable part was his description of a man who saw what was happening between a man and a woman on a train and … did nothing, rather escaped unscathed.

It is refreshing to see a young man taking on the challenges of misogyny, harassment, assault and being a male feminist. There are many one-woman shows these days about these topics and this is the first time I have seen a young man approach it head-on.

And young, indeed, as the 17-year-old multi-talented Weinstein is the writer, performer, and director who produced this show to bring it to stage. He has put more thought into the issues around male feminism and its complexities than most twice his age. We will need to hear more such voices speaking out for real change to happen. In the meantime, we have one young man using his voice and talents to find a way to support the ‘other half of the sky’. Imagine what change could occur if his words could be heard in every school across the country.

Box Office https://www.thelionandunicorntheatre.com/whats-on

Written, Performed, Directed, Produced by Scott Weinstein

Reviewed by Mariam Mathew