Wednesday 4th November 2026

Review by: Alan Connor

Kirribilli is one of those places in Sydney I’ve been to, without ever really having properly looked around. I arrived early and took in the Opera House from the north side of the bridge, with the blonde in tow. We peeked into the Sydney Flying Squadron, apparently Sydney’s oldest boathouse, and watched the boats bobbing about, looking pleased with themselves. Then we sauntered into to the theatre next door.

The Ensemble Theatre is delightful. The crowd mingled over drinks in the bar, waiting for the doors to open on Mike Bartlett’s Snowflake, directed by Jo Bradley. I had high expectations, which is exactly how every family Christmas begins.

We open in a church hall on Christmas Eve with a monologue from Andy (James Lugton), who takes us through his grief at his own pace. He laments everything from the loss of his wife to the abrupt drift away from his twenty-something daughter, whom he is desperately hoping to see over the holidays, despite the unanswered texts. It’s a lot to take in before anyone else has said a word.

The room is small and charming. We’re practically on top of the stage, close enough to look Andy in the eye and see a man struggling to keep up with a changing world. The British references land perfectly if you grew up a Pom. I hadn’t heard “Terry and June” uttered in the same sentence for years, and the Knight Rider and Esther Rantzen references took me straight back to a Saturday afternoon in HMV. We now live in an age of short-term consumption, YouTube Shorts and TikTok, and I suspect half the audience wouldn’t know who Logan Paul was if he bit them on the arse.

Around the thirty-minute mark, we’ve got to know Andy and we’re all wondering what happens next. He’s the single uncle who turns up at New Year’s and falls out with everyone. The room goes black for a split second, and in walks Natalie (Lilian Alejandra Valverde), collecting crockery from the church hall, and the evening comes alive. She is wonderful and hilarious. Her cockney accent is pure Brixton, and her comic timing is effortless. The jokes are pitch black, and several are properly funny. We all know someone like her: a lit fuse of unfiltered honesty, straight from the city and a long way from the comfortable middle England where the play is set. Not everything about Natalie is as it seems.

The story unfolds in an endearing way. A father waits for the daughter who walked out of his life, and we want her to turn up. We want to see him get a hug, despite the purple hair and the Brexit opinions. Claudia Elbourne’s Maya soon arrives guarded and prickly, and gives as good as she gets. Who’s right about the state of the world? I’ve watched this exact argument play out in real life, far away from Kirribilli. We’re all products of our environment and of the people we spend the most time with, like it or not. I’m still not sure who’s right or wrong.

Three people on a small stage, and I didn’t know who to look at. All three were excellent. You could hear a pin drop. The pacing is immaculate and the dialogue never puts a foot wrong.

I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s moving, if a touch abrupt. We’re left with a small model house, a tiny figure at the door who might or might not be right, and an ice skater going round in circles beneath the Christmas lights while snowflakes fall from the ceiling.

The audience gave loud applause and a well-deserved standing ovation. One thing’s for sure, or maybe two. Terry and June and Knight Rider need to make a comeback, and I’m going home to hug my teenage kids extra tight, because one day I’ll be the one waiting by the phone.

Four snowflakes out of five. Recommended.

Snowflake is playing at the Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli, until 21 November