★★★★★
Review: An Unseasonable Fall of Snow, forthcoming UK tour. This production at the Old Fire Station.
[Disclosure: Our reviewer received free tickets for the purposes of this review.]
This new staging of Gary Henderson’s An Unseasonable Fall of Snow has been produced by actor Ian Gain’s new theatre company, Roughyed Urchins. Snow was commissioned in 1998 for the New Zealand International Arts Festival, and has been performed regularly ever since.
Chris Lane playing Liam on the left and Ian Gain playing Arthur on the right.
The story follows two characters – Liam and Arthur. Liam is a young man who may or may not have committed murder the previous evening. The older Arthur is Liam’s interrogator – who attempts to uncover the truth of what has happened. Snow is an interesting play - the text is carefully structured and thrilling in the way that a gripping police procedural can be. The writing is spare, offering space for great actors to make the characters their own.
Chris Lane played Liam.
In this production, both actors did an extraordinary job. Chris Lane was utterly believable as the dissolute Liam. Lane is a remarkable actor who manages to inhabit the physicality of his character completely - so the degenerate Liam is overweight, jowly and hunched (unlike Lane himself) - a transformation that was achieved purely through the body rather than costume and makeup.
Ian Gain, as Arthur.
Gain’s performance as the older Arthur is compelling. Gain has been cast in law enforcement roles throughout his career – playing police officers in many of the UK’s most beloved tv shows – and his expertise shows in his visceral and threatening performance. It was a great privilege to see two actors of this calibre in such an intimately staged setting.
This production of Snow was staged as a prequel to a longer UK run in the not too distant future. When it does return, I thoroughly recommend going.
Are you overweight, jowly and hunched? If so, you might enjoy reading my Moving Beautifully series here.
