Attempting to cover myriad themes; depression, alcoholism and desire within the space of a one hour performance was a bold undertaking, and one that Mark Farrelly’s script tackled adroitly.

Performing his one-man show - depicting an hour in the author Patrick Hamilton’s life - Farrelly made the most of the Rialto’s bijou stage with his wild gesturing and grotesque grimacing.

The performance had less to say about depression or alcoholism than it did about the author himself and Farrelly’s Hamilton made for an unsympathetic protagonist, all ego and self-immolations.

The audience reacted well to Farrelly’s conspiratorial stage whisperings and the piece drew a number of black laughs.

A propensity for elongating his phrases in a sing-song manner proved a little irritating at points, in an otherwise sophisticated turn from Farrelly, an accomplished writer and actor whose credits include a self-penned solo show Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope.

A Brighton venue was something of a homecoming for Hamilton, as the author was born in Hassocks and raised in Hove.

Urgent and caustic, The Silence Of Snow was a challenging piece that Farrelly delivered with the necessary brio, making for a compelling Hamilton.

Three stars