The warmth of the room, both in terms and temperature and audience response, captured the international spirit of the Fringe. Blowing in appropriately from Iceland, with a name thant means snow and is also very difficult to pronounce, Snjolaug gives a jaunty performance about growing up in Paris and then the contrast of moving back to Iceland at the age of 12 when her parents divorced.
Her upbringing in Paris had left Snjolaug with a superiority complex which had no impact on her contemporaries in her new life – everything she had held dear was reduced to being judged on face value. It was then easy for Snjolaug to blame what was to come next in terms of misadventure, relationships and career progression on the effects of culture shock and not really fitting in to this new Icelandic norm.
This show is very much a work in progress and I look forward to seeing how Snjolaug develops as a performer. It is brave to take on a full run at the Fringe so the take out is to listen to your audiences (and on the day I attended, they liked the show) and develop and play with your material according to response.
I love the observation around different cultures and the essential narrative of this show. I’m sure we will see more of Snjolaug and look forward to seeing her develop her craft. I will also learn to pronounce her name!
★★★
Snjolaug Ludviksdottir: Let It Snow is at Gilded Balloon at Old Tolbooth Market until 25thAugust. For tickets and more information click here!
