Jack Studio Theatre Archives - Page 9 of 17

The Silence of Snow

Jack Studio Theatre

Reviewed – 14th March 2019

★★★

“the play does not move its audience as much as it should, though it certainly entertains”

On entering the Jack Studio Theatre, the stage is bare but for a spotlit figure in a white hospital gown that the lighting tinges blue. It’s late afternoon, we soon learn, in Muswell Hill and there is a gas fire. Patrick Hamilton is waiting for his last round of electroconvulsive therapy, bottle in hand, as he invites us into his story.

You may know Hamilton for his success as a writer in the early 1900s. The hit plays ‘Rope’ and ‘Gaslight’ were both his, and he penned several successful novels: ‘Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky’, ‘Hangover Square’ and ‘The Slaves of Solitude’, snippets of which we see punctuating Hamilton’s life story. What you may not know is that Hamilton was an alcoholic, and his drinking had a massive impact on his relationships with family and lovers.

Written and performed by Mark Farrelly, a dark life story is told with wit and a love of language. Farrelly frequently addresses the audience directly, knowing nods to a contemporary listener. There is a playful energy to the piece, despite the constant hanging presence of drink which features in both his life and his plays. Farrelly throws himself into the many characters that grace the stage, and is consistently engaging and energised in this one man show.

The portrayals of some of the characters are a bit heavy handed at points, overly emphatic in a way that undermines their truthfulness, and means the play does not move its audience as much as it should, though it certainly entertains. The female characters are given little distinction and are not drawn with sufficient vividness to make them real. From the glimpses we get of them they seem like potentially fascinating characters, whose contributions to this story go untapped. Whilst the drunk scene of verbal abuse is a particularly strong moment in the play in terms of emotional impact, it could be even stronger if we had a clearer picture of those on the other side. The scene also goes on just a little bit longer than it needs to, something that the play as a whole suffers from. The language is incredibly rich and clever throughout. Whilst this seems appropriate for Hamilton’s own taste, and the depiction of a writer’s life, moments of simplicity in both language and portrayal would help root this play in its emotional story.

Full of potential, wit and life, The Silence of Snow needs to strip itself back and find the truth of the narrative and the people involved, so that it really makes the impact the narrative deserves.

The play is dedicated to Tim Welling, who was the first person to read the play but took his life before he could see it performed. As a tribute to this Farrelly runs a collection for MIND after every show, and has so far raised a stunning £7,500.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

The Silence of Snow

Jack Studio Theatre until 16th March

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

The White Rose | ★★★★ | July 2018

Hobson’s Choice | ★★★★ | September 2018

Radiant Vermin | ★★★★ | November 2018

Sweet Like Chocolate Boy | ★★★★★ | November 2018

Cinderella | ★★★ | December 2018

Gentleman Jack | ★★★★ | January 2019

As A Man Grows Younger | ★★★ | February 2019

Footfalls And Play | ★★★★★ | February 2019

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

★★★

“David Bromley brings Colyer’s words to life with impressive energy”

Italo Svevo was a correspondence clerk, then a businessman. Now, in his sixties, he is finally getting recognition for his writing. Thanks to his friend James Joyce, his new novel is the talk of Paris. One reviewer even says he’s a genius: ‘the Italian Proust’. But it’s difficult to enjoy such success when Fascism has taken over your country. When, Svevo wonders, will Mussolini turn his attention to him? When will his work be banned? Having just emerged, is he about to disappear?

Howard Colyer’s monologue has Svevo ruminating on this and much more, as he waits for the reviews of his new play. As his mind runs back and forth between his present fear and past triumph, Svevo himself runs up and down a ladder and all around the room, occasionally bumping into a fragment of the past that has found itself on the floor or in an old suitcase. It’s like his mind has exploded and he’s just started picking up the pieces. Karl Swinyard stuffs Svevo’s house in Trieste with details: a noticeboard is covered in clippings, dates, and the note “L.C.” (Last Cigarette), an old chest lies drowned in a sea of books. The shuttered windows are a reminder of the hidden world outside, but nothing, not even Mussolini himself, can touch Svevo’s ancient typewriter or worn violin. It is beautiful and evocative, a little corner of the world trapped in its own time.

David Bromley brings Colyer’s words to life with impressive energy. He gives Svevo lightness and likability, making his stories interesting and his eccentricities charming: it is difficult to dislike him. Bromley also does several turns as important people in Svevo’s life – Joyce, Mussolini, suspicious mother-in-law Olga – and executes them with a comic touch. It feels as though he is having fun in the role, which makes him easy to watch.

But, whilst Bromley gives more than enough to this production, an important figure is missing: Joyce, who shaped so much of Svevo’s life. Although several anecdotes are told, they are not the highlights they deserve to be, and become lost within Colyer’s muddled structure. His attempt to write in a Modernist style is successful, but it comes at the expense of some of the key moments. Whilst some events come to life before our eyes with stunning realness, others feel flat. Given that Svevo led such a varied life, it is a real shame that it cannot be presented with the same flair with which it was lived.

As a Man Grows Younger isn’t a play that will change the world, but it is still a reminder of the power, beauty and necessity of words in a time of crisis. For a man who thought he was about to disappear, Svevo and his story remain more vibrant than ever.

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Tim Stubbs Hughes

Jack Studio Theatre

Reviewed – 14th March 2019

★★★

“the play does not move its audience as much as it should, though it certainly entertains”

Full of potential, wit and life, The Silence of Snow needs to strip itself back and find the truth of the narrative and the people involved, so that it really makes the impact the narrative deserves.

The play is dedicated to Tim Welling, who was the first person to read the play but took his life before he could see it performed. As a tribute to this Farrelly runs a collection for MIND after every show, and has so far raised a stunning £7,500.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

The Silence of Snow

Jack Studio Theatre until 16th March

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Jack Studio Theatre

Reviewed – 21st February 2019

★★★

“David Bromley brings Colyer’s words to life with impressive energy”

As a Man Grows Younger isn’t a play that will change the world, but it is still a reminder of the power, beauty and necessity of words in a time of crisis. For a man who thought he was about to disappear, Svevo and his story remain more vibrant than ever.

Reviewed by Harriet Corke

Photography by Tim Stubbs Hughes

As a Man Grows Younger

Jack Studio Theatre until 23rd February

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: