One Million Words ⭐️⭐️

“Step into a world of words and human connection, inspired by the writings of Rainer Maria Rilke. Letters, love and longing connect a poet of the past with an actor of today. Struggling with writer’s block, Rilke only expresses himself through letters for a year. A century later, the letters help Ivo Müller navigate his own challenges in a world where even his name feels foreign.”

There is something inherently beautiful about a production built around letters. Words written a century ago finding their way into the hands of someone today should, in theory, create a fascinating theatrical conversation between history and today. Unfortunately, One Million Words left me feeling rather more disconnected than connected.

Direction is extremely restrained, with very little happening visually or physically for much of the production. There are moments when the performer moves out into the audience, but these felt largely unnecessary and added little to the storytelling. They did, at least, provide a brief change of pace, and, if I’m being entirely honest, a useful reminder I was still awake.

Set is easily one of the production’s strongest elements. A lovely table sits surrounded by an enormous collection of letters spread across the floor. It is a simple but beautiful image and immediately establishes the central idea of the piece. There is something genuinely evocative about being encompassed by all those words, and I found myself wishing the production had made more use of the visual possibilities that the set provided.

Lighting is okay, but unfortunately suffers from the same lack of variety as much of the production. One detail particularly stood out: two objects are suspended above the stage by fishing line, and depending on the lighting state, the line was either clearly visible or almost completely disappeared. I much preferred the states where it disappeared.

Sound is okay, but I wanted more of it. Unfortunately, when sound did appear, it sometimes increased the overall sense of sluggishness rather than lifting the production. A stronger, more varied soundscape could have helped create the emotional atmosphere the material desperately needs.

The biggest problem, however, is the book. One Million Words has an interesting idea at its heart, but the execution is incredibly slow. I almost fell asleep on a couple of occasions, and that is never where you want an audience member’s mind to be during a piece about interpersonal connection. The concept of reaching one million words has created its own problem. There is an enormous amount of content to get through, and at times it feels as though words have been added simply because the production needs to reach its titular number.

The writing nee

Performance is similarly difficult to engage with. The piece needs more charisma and stage presence, particularly when one performer is essentially carrying the entire theatrical experience.

The material is already slow and word-heavy, so the performance needs to provide an additional energy to draw us in. Unfortunately, I didn’t find enough of that here. There are moments of commitment, but I struggled to connect emotionally with the character or the journey.

And when the production itself is this minimal, the performer has to become the reason we keep watching.

I found myself waiting for something to change.

One Million Words has a beautiful premise and a genuinely lovely visual idea at its centre. The image of a person surrounded by letters is striking, and the connection between Rilke’s words and a modern actor has the potential to create something intensely human. But potential is not the same as execution. The production is too slow, too word-heavy and too restrained for me to become emotionally invested. The irony is that a show about communication left me feeling that it had far too much to say and not quite enough to communicate. Sometimes one million words really is too many.

One Million Words plays at the Pleasance Jack Dome until the 31st August and runs for approximately 60 minutes.

Book tickets for One Million Words