The play begins with a montage of dating scenes spread over the generations and then plunges into some of the various dating and relationship challenges faced in today’s world.
From the young woman who has become ill chasing an unrealistic self-image, to the loud mouthed lager lout who’s bravado and loutishness hides deep-seated insecurities.
The office romance. The abusive relationship. The dating ap. First date disasters and the pain of finding your place in a world where insecurities are often reinforced by powerful but superficial stereotypes. This Pop Heart production peeled back the veneer of protocol to glimpse what lies underneath.
From the very first scene through to the very last the energy was tremendous. Heather Rose Andrews played the girl in the mirror suffering with BDD (body dysmorphic disorder) with an intensity that made me want to reach out in some way to help. She slipped from the dark and tragic character to the light and fluffy debutante with cutting edge clarity.
Lisa Caira likewise gave life to both a self-assured womaniser, and an office romance focus, with delightful contrast. But it was James McCauley that stole the performance for me with one character that was painfully vulnerable, and another who was dangerously aggressive. The contrast was extreme and yet each character he played had subtle depth and substance. In truth all of the actors gave a great performance, using the limited space at The Globe to its best.
The Globe offers an intimate L shaped performance space. The production team utilised the space well, with the stage spread across the corner of the room at floor level keeping both sections of the audience connected.
Despite the minimalist set the lighting was well timed and subtle, defining the performance area where space was definitely at a premium. The writing was clever. poignant, dark, and often very funny. Invited to view other worlds as participant rather than voyeur I found that the perspectives that were offered engendered insight and open questions.
I was still left asking myself, am I f#*kable? But walked away understanding that in our media rich age the question is more problematic and difficult to answer than ever.
One more performance on June 4.
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