Mark Farrelly brings Patrick Hamilton to life

Posted on 14th February 2025

Is Patrick Hamilton the most successful writer you’ve never heard of? The author of a string of best-selling novels in the 1930s that have now largely been forgotten, even his ground breaking plays Rope and Gaslight have been eclipsed by the reputation of their respective film adaptations. Mark Farrelly’s retelling of Hamilton’s life premiered in Edinburgh ten years ago, combining his own words with those of Hamilton’s. The Silence of Snow was a classic Fringe show featuring one man and a chair, performed midday for free in the Espionage Bar.

It’s a testament to both his writing and acting skills that, a decade later, Farrelly is still captivating audiences with his exhaustive, and somewhat exhausting, account of a man blessed with a rapier wit, but burdened by alcoholism and depression. The production has developed since then. The Corn Hall stage remained bare, but the performance was greatly enhanced by effective lighting and sound design. The hiss and crackle of shock therapy combined with a shift from scarlet lighting to blackout mirrored the intensity of Farrelly’s heightened acting, creating an uneasy sense of fragility and imbalance. There was some light relief, as Hamilton’s hapless lovelife unravelled, but for the most part this was a tragic tale of squandered talent.

The most moving moment of the evening was Farrelly’s dedication to his late friend Tim Welling. This was the first in a series of biographical plays by Farrelly, and it was Welling who encouraged its creation, but who sadly took his own life. Having seen and enjoyed Farrelly’s later play based on Quentin Crisp’s life, I can say with confidence that the encouragement was well founded. Encouragement too, is due to the Corn Hall for staging such an uncompromising work. I look forward to the venue presenting plays of a similar calibre, not least more from Mark Farrelly.