Performance of Silence that's painful (4)
I believe the answer is:
show
'performance' is the definition.
(I've seen this in other clues)
'silence that's painful' is the wordplay.
'silence' becomes 'sh' ('sh' is said to tell someone to be silent).
'that's painful' becomes 'ow' (I've seen this in other clues).
'sh'+'ow'='SHOW'
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for show that I've seen before include "programme" , "Entertainment - guide" , "Demonstration" , "Labour's evidence for starting" , "Allow to be seen" .)