How far would you go to right a wrong? Snowflakes takes Cancel Culture quite literally to question ideas of morality, revenge and justice with gleeful, violent abandon. Combining the technological nihilism of Black Mirror with the dark comedy and horror of Inside No. 9, it lacerates modern outrage and trial by social media.
Marcus and Sarah work for a very special start-up. They don’t work in a shared office. They don’t sell locally sourced, gluten-free coconut water. They do the job that so many people call out for in the comments section. So, outsource your rage, disgust and vitriol and let’s get to the truth before the media storm blows over. They may not based in a co-working space but they do have an app: Justice isn’t blind, it’s streamed to millions. Don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe!
This sci-fi black comedy resonates in various directions, implicating questions about the potency of social media, female empowerment and how characters earnestly confront trauma. Comedy, drama and satire; Snowflakes is brought by Dissident Theatre – a company with the goal of making theatre to confront the base, the repressed and ambiguous corners of the world we live in.
Making his writing debut, Robert Boulton (False Choices, King’s Head Theatre; Baked Beans) will also star in Snowflakes as Marcus alongside Niamh Finlay (Gutted, The Marlowe Theatre and UK Tour; Everything that Rises Must Dance, Complicité) as Sarah and Henry Davis (Hanna, Amazon Prime, The Essex Serpent, Apple TV) as Tony.
Robert Boulton comments, My favourite stories have always been dark, twisted and morally dubious – what that says about me as a person, God only knows. I want to make people laugh through the darkness; I don’t respond well to moral preaching or superiority and don’t expect an audience to. I’m flitting somewhere in between terror and excitement to see how the audience responds. I hope Snowflakes is a relevant, if irreverent, riff on contemporary society, not just examining the problems we’re encountering now and where we might be going; but also asking where we want to be when and if we solve these problems. Then again, maybe not.
Snowflakes is brought to life by an angular, minimalist set by Offie-nominated Alys Whitehead (Aisha, The Old Red Lion & Tristan Bates Theatre) designed to reflect the nature of internet streaming, courtrooms and the dystopian future-present in which the play is set. Lighting design from Jonathan Chan (Sticks and Stones, Tristan Bates Theatre) interplays with the set design to create compelling changes in mood through the production.
Snowflakes is at The Old Red Lion 28th September to 16th October 2021.
