Purple Snowflakes and Tittywanks – Royal Court

This a revolutionary piece that follows a young woman from Ireland to London with the suffocating pressures of a nation devout to their beliefs and their religion. How this manifests is in the bodies of young people who cover their sexual frustrations, eating disorders, depression and anxieties. This slightly nonsensical piece is high energy, a thought a minute as she revisits her later years in school with the complication of discovery and in how unlocking knowledge can be just as limiting as you may have felt before.

Written and performed by Sarah Hanly, awarded with the 2019 Pinter Commission and one of Royal Court’s Long Form Writer’s Group- she has written a piece that speaks to a nation in recovery. It is powerful, funny and dark as we uncover the truth to her shame and a reason to recover.

The writing alone was very moving but only made stronger by the tightness of the production which I was slick and wildly impressive.

I was slightly disappointed to discover that the trigger warning had not be on the website, only said at the moment of arrival even though having no interval and in a quite tight audience space with little availability to leave. If there is argument that it spoils the story, I would argue it was spoilt on the moment of arrival so why not eliminate that factor by putting it on the website.

That aside, Sarah is a firecracker with the energy to match her fantastic writing.

Playing until the 12^th February, https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/purplesnowflakes/

Reviewer: Alice Rose

Reviewed: 4th February 2022

North West End UK Rating: ★★★