Writer and Director: Miranda Lapworth
Miranda Lapworth’s new work Storms, Maybe Snow is an exploration of love and its effect on family. Can love overpower tension and memory, or will external factors prove more powerful?
Introduced to Lou and Jack, a longstanding married couple, visiting their beach house out of season, we quickly become settled into their relationship. Comfortable, tired yet still loving, it is the typical behaviour you’d expect from a long marriage. However, it quickly becomes apparent that there is tension between the two since Lou’s recent diagnosis. Their usual comforting games quickly tire and lack their usual enjoyment, and it becomes clear the couple are knocked from their usual routine.
The tension between the couple becomes tighter with the arrival of their daughter, Mariana, and her partner, Isobel. Mariana has underlying resentment toward her mother, clearly something bubbling away for years, and the news of her diagnosis seems to only make her fuse shorter. Isobel is the stoic voice of reasoning to diffuse the family’s tension. The conversations between Isobel and Jack offer escapism for both from their respective partners’ anger.
However, the play takes a turn down an unexpected path, and instead becomes a story of whether Mariana and Lou can save their relationship amidst tragedy – can love really champion all?
Whistle Lapworth offers some interesting and beautifully written monologues for the characters, the overall storyline feels underdeveloped and lacking intent. There’s no doubt of her intelligence and ability to write, but the script feels full of overly stuffy words to offer intellect, and the actual bones are in need of development.
The cast performs the show well, but it is evident how much dialogue there is to digest, with many of the actors tripping over lines on a few occasions. It was also evident that the script lacks any dynamics, as there is little buildup or levels to the scenes, except for the characters’ respective final “blowup” monologues.
Some scenes are overworked and drag on. The show would benefit from shortening moments to keep pace and make choices more intentional. A musical moment is added, which is nice, but overly lengthy, as well as the repeating theme of Lou and Jack’s game, which is a lovely way to show their familiarity, but is overused and often irrelevant to the scene.
The scene changes also could perhaps be sleeker, many seeming futile. The accompaniment of some confusing background music being used repeatedly with not much relevance, stagnates the show and makes it feel less polished than it has the potential to be. Perhaps this should be a one-act 90-minute play offering more concise and intentional use of dialogue,
Runs until 20 September 2025 and continues to tour
