Sitting (In Silence) Heads to Edinburgh Fringe After Brighton Awards Wins

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Kitty Falcon's dark comedy stars Patrick O'Donnell as a father navigating grief and mental health.

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Sitting (In Silence) is a dark comedy that brings humour, honesty and humanity to one of the most urgent conversations of our time. Set during a ten-day silent meditation retreat, the play follows a father and daughter navigating an estranged relationship shaped as much by what is left unsaid as what is spoken aloud. Performances will run from August 6-31.

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The meditation retreat is supposed to help them find inner peace. DAD, played by Patrick O'Donnell (Vikings: Valhalla; REVENANT, Buxton Fringe Festival's Best Production Award) is out of place from the get-go. He's disruptive, doubtful and charming in a way that has everyone rolling their eyes, including his daughter. When the two share a rare moment of privacy in the heavenly garden, what begins as whispers, a telling off and a hilarious Culture Clash slowly shifts, growing heavier with each passing word.

This new play from Kitty Falcon asks what silence really costs us and how difficult it can be to express love, pain and fear. Drawing from Falcon's own personal story, Sitting (In Silence) arrives at a time when conversations around mental health and suicide have never been more critical. By weaving together themes of addiction, parenthood, grief and healing, Sitting (In Silence) opens space for dialogue, allowing audiences to reflect with the difficult subject matter while avoiding despair.

Writer and actor Kitty Falcon comments, Sitting (In Silence) comes from a deeply personal place as I lost my dad, Joe, to suicide in 2015. Every week in the UK, around 125 people die by suicide, and men remain three times more likely to take their own lives. We need to find ways and places to facilitate more open conversations around mental health, something I aim to spark through my work. Since sharing the play, I've built incredible connections with audiences who've shared their own stories of loss and healing. It showed me how vital this subject matter is, and how art (and comedy) can transform trauma into something connective and hopeful.

A comic yet haunting exploration of grief, Sitting (In Silence) will leave you reflecting on the things we choose not to say, the silence that divides us and what healing really means. Could those real moments of laughter and connection ultimately be what saves us?

Sitting (In Silence) won the Mid Street Lab Community Award and the Farnham Maltings Emerging Artist Award at Brighton Fringe 2025. It was also selected for development at the Kiln Theatre as part of the Listen Local Young Writer's Programme 2024. Created in partnership with organisations including Dad La Soul, Start The Conversation and Papyrus UK, the show is rooted in a wider commitment to breaking stigma and encouraging open conversations around mental health.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/scotland/article/SITTING-IN-SILENCE-to-Transfer-to-Edinburgh-Fringe-After-Brighton-Awards-20260624)._