‘Because Christmas. Well… That’s when they say people come home.’ Kiln Theatre and Fictional Company present Mike Bartlett’s Snowflake. It runs from 10 Dec 2019 – 25 Jan 2020.
Andy, a 43 year old dad who likes watching nostalgic TV and enjoys his pints in the pub. He hasn’t spoken to his daughter since she left three years ago.
This Christmas, Andy knows she’s coming back – Maya knows she’s not.
Snowflake is an epic story about generational conflict, fathers and daughters, and whether we’re living in the best or worst of times…
The Artiscape spoke to Amber James about her role in the play.
Amber tells us, “I play Natalie, a 20 something bi-racial Londoner. She’s everything I love being and knowing young Brits in 2019: she’s gloriously smart, passionate, controversial, unafraid of conflict and up to her ears in wit.”
“She enters this guy Andy’s life at the most inappropriate time imaginable, and yet has the potential to pretty much change his life, his way of seeing the world and his place in it,” she adds.
Does Amber relate to her character in any way? any similarities?
“One of the main reasons I wanted the job was how much I related to her” says Amber. “We share many views about a lot of things, and 2 weeks into rehearsals I feel like she’s going to teach me a thing or two as well”.
As a young bi-racial British woman Amber says she, like her character is proud of where she comes from and passionate about what she believes in. In identifying with her character she says “… she has a lot of compassion and care for others, which I’d like to think we share, however she’s totally unafraid of dishing out some tough-love when necessary, which I find difficult when with those closest to me.”
“I’ve also got a tendency to overstep the mark in things I say occasionally, the difference is Natalie doesn’t have a care in the world about challenging others and their actions,” adds Amber.
What is Amber most looking forward to in performing in this play?
“This is the first time I’ve been part of a three-hander” says Amber. “There’s just myself and two other actors in this production, which creates a wonderfully intimate atmosphere for us and the audience.”
“You’ll really get to know these people, and we’ll get to know the audience by the way they respond to the play in the moment,” she continues, “which has real potential to vary every night depending on age, political leanings, culture and beliefs, which is incredibly exciting. I’ve also never done a play that is set present day, and that happens in real time.”
Finally we ask Amber what she thinks an audience will like about the play?
“[The play] capture’s today’s massive generational divides in a way that’s both completely unique and utterly truthful. The play explores what happens when people that love each other are worlds apart in their ideas and beliefs, which is what almost every family in the country is experiencing right now,” says Amber. “We’re living it. It’s really funny, really relatable, and captures the power and magic of Christmas time in an incredibly special way.”
“It’s a love story at heart,” she tells us, “A fiercely complicated, painful and joyful one- which, let’s face it, all the best ones are.”
Snowflake runs at Kiln Theatre London from 10 Dec 2019 – 25 Jan 2020.
