An Unseasonable Fall of Snow

Mid-year 2005 the Troupe presented a short season of two small-cast New Zealand plays. Both plays were presented with actors and an audience of about 50 on the Muritai stage. Florence McFarlane produced Gary Henderson’s An Unseasonable Fall of Snow.

In the Wellington District Theatre Federation’s full-length play competition this production won awards:

• Best equal direction in drama (Florence McFarlane)
• Outstanding male actor (Ben Cain)
• Outstanding best young male actor (Tom Marwick)

Cast:

2005 An Unseasonable Fall of Snow – Gary Henderson

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Review: A compelling outing of a great NZ play

WHAT: An Unseasonable Fall of Snow by Gary Henderson, directed by Florence McFarlane
WHERE: Muritai School, till June 18 REVIEWED BY: Ewen Coleman

AN interrogation, in whatever situation, can be a powerful and dramatic event, an adrenaline rush for the interrogator, a harrowing experience for the one being questioned. This was never more evident than in Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe’s show, a compelling and mind-numbing production of Gary Henderson’s tightly written and gutsy play An Unseasonable Fall of Snow.

The opening line of Arthur, the ruthless and sadistic interrogator to the shy, self-effacing young man Liam sidling nervously into his office is: “You like puzzles?” This is a question as much to the audience as to Liam, as Henderson’s psychological thriller never really spells out who these two are, what their relationship with each other is or what the outcome of this intense and dramatic encounter will be. All we know is that one night in 1998, during an unseasonable fall of snow in Wellington, Liam appears to have committed some heinous crime. Diffident and inarticulate, his one- word answers and his inability to either explain himself or take responsibility for his actions so frustrates Arthur that tempers flare to boiling point with violent consequences. Yet Arthur doesn’t have it all his own; way, and, as the cat and mouse game progresses, aspects of Arthur’s life are. Exposed to reveal that all is not what it seems as Henderson’s themes of truth, consequence and the value of human life slowly emerge.

Under Florence McFarlane’s excellent direction and with two electrifying performances from Ben Cain as Arthur and Tom Marwick as Liam, the mind games and psychological intimidations are played out with terrifying realism.

Cain’s Arthur begins as a most despicable character, his tone of voice and actions sending shivers of fear through Liam and the audience, yet he also manages to bring humanity to the character at the end when the tables are turned. Marwick’s Liam, on the other hand, begins as a pathetic, lifeless youth, never looking Arthur in the eye, his nervous chipping of bits from the edge of his polystyrene coffee cup saying as much as his monosyllabic answers. Yet he is also able to find an inner strength to turn the play around in its final startling moments, making this engaging and compelling production of a great New Zealand play a most satisfying evening’s entertainment.