‘Farrelly is mesmerising as Hamilton in one of the most near perfect performances I have seen for some time’
Mark Farrelly’s one-man show is absorbing, engaging, and entertaining as it draws us into the complex mind of one of the great English writers of the inter-war years whose work is perhaps better known nowadays through TV and film adaptations.
In a rollercoaster biographical ride, whose assured and confident beginning was to become carried away on the headiness of critical success, there’s an inevitability to its final descent which is well handled by director Linda Marlowe.
Farrelly is mesmerising as Hamilton in one of the most near perfect performances I have seen for some time as with the slightest of adjustments he segues between an array of supporting characters including parents, ex- and revolving lovers, as well as friends and enemies who, held close, become somewhat interchangeable, in scenes that are instantly recognisable and brought to my mind Frost’s poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’.
There is full use of the available studio space allowing strong, positive engagement with the audience through repeated breaking of the fourth wall as we are very much invited into Hamilton’s recollections of times past which is delivered with a perfect balance of humour and intensity with an ever-present black dog looming every step of the way.
Farrelly’s clever, insightful, and original writing is blended perfectly with extracts from some of Hamilton’s finest works and delivered in an adroit yet cautionary manner as bumps in the literal road appear with increasingly regularity to throw Hamilton off course.
There is good use of lighting to frame scenes in context with sound effects reinforcing the sense of time and place as we race through the ups and downs of a life plagued by its forebears and ultimately too well lived, recounted with a natural warmth, wit, and charm.
As with all things, it’s about knowing when to stop, and whether it was Farrelly’s intention to take Hamilton’s life imitating his art to its bitterest conclusion, it did feel that there was a point on the hour mark, where the play has come full circle to where it began, which would have left some intrigue and have been a more natural and fitting conclusion to what was both an inspired homage and a warning.
The play is dedicated to the memory of Tim Welling, a close friend of Mark Farrelly, who sadly took his own life in December 2012. He was the first person to read The Silence of Snow and always promised to be in the front row of the first performance, a promise he was unable to fulfil. At the end of every performance, a collection is undertaken for MIND, the mental health charity who do such fantastic work and which to date has raised over £15,000.
Further information on this production and Farrelly’s other work can be found at https://markfarrelly.co.uk/
Review Date: 24th October 2026
Star Rating: FOUR