Saddleworth Live: The Silence of Snow: The Life of Patrick Hamilton

Description

The Silence of Snow: The Life of Patrick Hamilton

Millgate Arts Centre, Stonewood Road Delph

November 1st 2019 at 8pm

Following his much-acclaimed performance of Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope at the Millgate Arts Centre last year, Mark Farrelly returns with his riveting, kinetic solo show portraying one of the great English writers of the inter-war years. Patrick Hamilton was a dazzling success in his twenties, producing hit plays Rope (filmed by Hitchcock) and Gaslight, and classic novelsTwenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky, Hangover Squareand The Slaves of Solitude.

But Hamilton was also an alcoholic, whose wit darkened as his inner and outer worlds collapsed. Covering the entire sweep of Hamilton’s thrilling life and writing, The Silence of Snow entertains and challenges in equal measure, asking audiences: why do so many of us get through life without feeling we ever truly knew another person?

This witty and engaging tribute to a great English writer is written and performed by Mark Farrelly, whose West End credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opposite Matthew Kelly. He is directed by EastEnders star Linda Marlowe.

Supporting MIND, the UK’s leading mental health charity

Running time: 70 mins no interval

★★★★ “You won’t be able to take your eyes off this magnetic actor Mark Farrelly. He inhabits the character of Hamilton with a blazing fluidity” The Times

★★★★ “Farrelly’s performance is electric” What’s On Stage

★★★★ “Horrifyingly funny snapshot of the wit, novelist and playwright…brilliant” The Spectator

★★★★ “Wonderful passion and charisma…a complete embodiment of a complex character” Exeunt

★★★★ “Farrelly’s revelatory autopsy of a cauterised heart of darkness is intimidatingly implosive: stand well close”  The Reviews Hub

★★★★ “Master of the monologue Mark Farrelly intriguingly deploys his many skills and all his talents” Broadway Baby

★★★★ “Farrelly’s achievement is to portray a life so lacking in personal happiness so entertainingly” British Theatre Guide

★★★★ “The masterful Farrelly doesn’t so much play as inhabit the role of Hamilton…he holds us spellbound” Theatre Things

★★★★ “Farrelly’s performance is a tour de force, and his talent is clear” Everything Theatre

★★★★ “Clear and sharp-eyed characterisation and performance of a very high order” Edinburgh Guide

Bookings can be made in person, by phone or online. The box office (at Delph Library) is open Tuesdays 2pm–5pm; Wednesdays  2pm–7pm; Thursdays 1pm-6pm and Fridays & Saturdays from 9:30am–1pm. The box office telephone number is 01457 874644. Tickets must be paid for at the time of booking. You can select your seats at the time of booking. Tickets are non-re-fundable.