Often people will remark that they would like to take justice into their own hands. Now imagine that this is turned into a business... problematic, right? 'Snowflakes' takes cancel culture to an extreme and explores the physical and mental battles when determining whether to take someone's life for an alleged wrongdoing.
Marcus (Robert Boulton) and Sarah (Louise Hoare) work for a start up who livestream (to paying viewers), an interrogation of someone who has supposedly committed a crime but has not yet faced any consequences. In turn, the viewers vote to decide a guilty or innocent verdict - if guilty, then the offender is killed whilst millions watch online. If innocent - well, Marcus confesses that he can lie about the vote result numbers. This time, Tony (Henry Davis) is on trial, but at the hands of Marcus and Sarah, will it be a fair one?
The most intriguing element of this show is each character's perspective on their own morality. Debatable motives are discussed throughout, which constantly shift who you want to root for. At times, they are edging on the side of psychopathic, yet you are still inclined to sympathise with each of their moral justifications. Maybe, it's because we do not know ourselves how we would react until we are in the same high intensity situation. Logic doesn't necessarily equal correct behaviour - instinct kicks in and your true colours are unveiled.
Despite the slow pacing, the plot had me engaged. Usually my mind would start to wander to a place elsewhere, but instead I was able to reflect on each character's decision-making abilities. As the play progressed, we were drip-fed more information on Marcus and Sarah's backstories and gradually, we understood how they intertwined and how their pasts would impact on their future. The outcome of their professional relationship was inevitable. Boulton possessed a cheeky charm, clearly indicated through his seemingly carefree approach to life. This intensified my conflicting feelings about Marcus, as I knew at ground level he was problematic, but I yearned for him to change. I particularly enjoyed Hoare's contrast to Bolton when bouncing off each other during Tony's interrogation. It cleverly displayed the spectrum of morality and the blurs between right and wrong.
Davis' perception of Tony was perhaps my favourite character portrayal. Despite hating him for previous actions, his philosophical monologues gave an insightful glimpse into society and social constructs. He revealed the dark direction in which humanity is headed. He left a strong impression, which has encouraged me to reflect on my own ethics and principles.
Produced in the Park90 studio space at Park Theatre, the audience surrounds three sides of the stage. It would have been great if this set up was consciously considered when blocking the stage - sitting in an upstage corner, I frequently lost many key facial expressions which indicated the manner in which the lines should be interpreted. The tone of vocal delivery helped combat this, however, due to the satirical nature of some plot points, it was occasionally difficult to determine the expected audience reaction. Although, I did appreciate the thoughtful use of a projection on the back wall. For the majority of the second act, Tony had his back to some of the audience but this did not cause a problem due to the video design.
As soon as I heard about this production, I was eager to see it. As a self-proclaimed 'snowflake', I was curious as to which perspective that they would take with the story concept. Overall, I think this play could prompt a great sociological discussion. However, I would have loved if they leant on the idea of the snowflake generation more as the is so much material to play with.
Snowflakes plays at Park Theatre until 6th May, 2023. For more information and tickets, head to the website here.
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AD | gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Reviewed by Carly
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