SNAIL

Off the recommendation from a friend, I went along to the Vaults festival on Friday evening to see ‘Snail’ a new play by Bebe Sanders.
I’ve been doing some technical work at the Vaults and was keen to try out some other venues, and see some new writing. ’Snail’ was sold to me as potentially uncomfortable viewing, and whilst I agree with that sentiment, the show was a really interesting piece with an even stronger performance.

Snail is best described as a one woman show following the life of Sylvie, a primary school teacher who finds that life is running away from her at fast pace. Her class at school elect to look after an African Land Snail as their communal pet, which unknowingly turns Sylvie’s life upside down.

It was a really strong piece of writing, with plot twists that genuinely left me surprised (and a little horrified). The piece is lifted by Sanders - she’s such a strong performer, with a natural gift for creating character. I often find myself a little bored halfway through a one hander, but Sanders managed to avoid that happening by bringing to life several fascinating and interesting supporting players. She had the audience hanging on for every word throughout the show and I really look forward to future work by her.

The quality of the stage and lighting design was incredibly high. There was a gorgeous slime-covered screen which with the addition of some intelligent lighting made the switch between different characters effortless, and sank us into the mindset of Sylvie in a really fun way. The whole lighting design was just really clever, it didn’t take much to make it a really slick part of the production.

It’s a fantastic piece to experience and I’m really glad I went to see it. It’s really fun getting to see fringe theatre, and the Vaults have been a really inclusive and exciting space to be in. I can’t wait to see what is next for this play. Totally worth my (and your) time! 

🐌🐌🐌🐌 out of 5!