As Ensemble Theatre nears the end of its year, Mike Bartlett’s Snowflake is an interesting exploration of family dynamics and generational divides which fits nicely into what has been a fairly varied season in Kirribilli. The show focuses on a family dynamic with Andy (James Lugton) trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter Maya (Claudia Elbourne), who has been seen around his town for the first time in many years. When Maya’s girlfriend Natalie (Lilian Alejandra Valverde) knocks on Andy’s door, a spirited conversation ensues about his relationship with his daughter and with the world around him.

The play explores the difficulties of communication between different generations, with the title itself testament to that and it is an interesting premise that provides plenty of opportunity to explore the complexities of family relationships and the way different generations perceive the world. The first part of the show is largely centred around Andy with his conversations leaving the audience in suspense as to exactly what his relationship is with his daughter. While this provides some insight into his character, it does mean that the show drags (especially as there is no real pay-off to a lot of it). Once Natalie and Maya arrive, there is more dynamism but the show is essentially trying to make up lost time from the start.

This is a play that is very dependent on the acting and the three performers are all fantastic in this regard, bringing great presence to their roles and genuine emotion to their performances. Lugton captures Andy’s vulnerability particularly well while Valverde brings plenty of energy and charisma to Natalie and Elbourne effectively portrays Maya’s hurt. With that said, it sometimes feels like there is a bit of a disconnect between the three characters and it does feel like three monologues are occurring on stage with not a lot of connection between them, which reduces the impact of the show.

Despite being written in 2018, the play feels a little bit dated, dealing with issues arising out of Brexit when it feels like the world has moved on a little bit. While the underlying generational divide and the difficulties of understanding different perspectives remain relevant, some of the specific political references feel less impactful. Additionally, there are times when it feels like the play is trying to say a lot about issues of gender, sexuality, race and everything in between but ends up not saying very much at all. In its ambitious attempts to tackle so many different issues, the play ultimately struggles to develop a cohesive argument or plot line to engage the audience and struggles because of this.

The show is well paced in parts towards the end and the twists and turns maintain interest as well as the strength of the acting but ultimately the play suffers from its lack of cohesion and inconsistency in chronology which means it is hard to follow and ends up feeling quite mushy and disjointed. It also feels like the play loses somewhat of its impact by having the loose ends neatly tied up at the end, which detracts from some of the themes and the mystery and suspense built up in the first act. There were many ways in which it felt like the play could go and the way it ultimately went felt like the least interesting way.

With that said, Soham Apte’s minimalist set is well executed with the little drops of snow adding some ambience to the show, alongside Luna Yuet Yee Ng’s lighting design which complements it nicely. The final set piece which is revealed at the end of the play is absolutely spectacular and feels quite poignant despite the other issues with the ending providing a visually striking conclusion to the production.

Overall, this is an interesting show and has a lot of potential to interrogate family dynamics and the generational divide but ultimately falls flat in its execution and is somewhat of a victim of its ambition. The acting is generally strong although the connection between the three characters is lacking at times and while there are moments of genuine humour and emotion, the play ultimately doesn’t quite deliver on the potential of its central premise although the performances mean there is still a lot to appreciate about this show.

Rating: ★★★1/2

Snowflake plays at the Ensemble Theatre until 21 November. For more information, click here.

All photo credits: Prudence Upton