Snowflakes by Robert Boulton. The Old Red Lion, 418 St John Street, London EC1 to 16 October 2021. 4****. William Russell.

A Covid casualty Snowflakes has now returned to the Old Red Lion to chill, thrill and make you wonder if things like this in the world where social media rules might not come about. We find Tony (Henry Davis) waking up in a hotel room where it seems he has spent the night with somebody. He phones his wife, starts to tidy up when room service knocks at the door. He opens it, says he did not order any, but is told by the man and woman that it is complimentary. They come in and overpower him, chloroform him and toss him on the bed before they get down to business. It seems they have come to kill him. In the social media world we discover that Tony has caused offence, punishment is demanded by those who post on line and Marcus (Robert Boulton) and Sarah (Niamh Finlay) have come to administer it. He is the experienced operative, she is on her first mission and he is very suspicious as to why she has been sent. If there is one thing you know about a three hander like this it is that by the end two of the protagonists will be dead – the thing is which two. Finding out is stimulating as all three – Tony gets revived and has to defend his behaviour for a filmed recording they are making – argue and fight for their lives. The setting allows the video the pair are making to be seen above the bed on which a lot of the action, and it is very violent, takes place. Indeed one does feel for the physical safety of all three as fight follows fight. There is nothing that would shock a Tarantino fan and the message is worth heeding. Social media has changed the world for ever. The old morality no longer applies. But who deserves punishment? Tony, a writer who has used words as his weapons, Marcus, who has killed and killed believing he is some righteous avenger, or Sarah as a woman in a world where women are abused now fighting back?

Marcus: Robert Bolton.
Sarah: Niamh Finlay.
Tony: Henry Davis.
Director: Michael Cattrell.
Set Designer: Alys Whitehead.
Lighting Designer: Jonathan Chan.
Production Photographs: Charles Flint.