"That was the story of our beginning...and this is the story of our end"
It is rare to find an audience of college students frustratedly trying to brush away the tears from their dampened faces at the finale of a show. Let's not kid ourselves; there's nothing cool, sexy or funny about a red nose and the inevitable panda eyes that follow. We adolescents prefer to attempt composure and indifference rather than openly express emotion - but an exception can certainly be made with Lovesong, where the themes of death and the person you are being eventually forgotten can certainly relate to any audience. These are perhaps the universal fears that strike a chord with all of us...
Writer Abi Morgan joined forces with physical theatre company Frantic Assembly to produce Lovesong; a bittersweet, haunting tale that spans the 40 year relationship of Maggie (Sian Phillips) and Billy (Sam Cox). It depicts both the blissful memories when the couple are still practically hazy-eyed from the acute shot of Cupid's bow, and the more turbulent times when Billy is crippling from the failure of his new business venture with a hard-hitting revelation from Maggie. It is a startlingly relatable, accurate representation of any relationship; tainted with highs and lows, tears and laughter; pain when trust takes plight, and the
irrevocable ecstasy found only in the arms of the person you love.
But perhaps most poignantly of all, Lovesong illustrates the "leap of faith" often taken to try and smooth out the obstructions the road of unrequited love often presents. The production is full of these risks the couple take together; from Billy taking his business Stateside, to trusting Maggie after her moment of weakness. It truly is a subtle reminder of the lengths even the most rational and calm-headed of us will do in the name of love; we would all take these leaps for that certain person.
The elderly Billy and Maggie are joined on stage by their younger selves, William (Edward Bennett) and Margaret (Leanne Rowe). Their prescences are weaved together with ease; at some points, Billy may direct speech at the memory of his younger wife, and vice versa. The movement also serves to mimic this effect; from the perspective of a girl who's own sorry dancing abilities only stretch to as far as the Cha-Cha Slide, even I can deduce the choreography is beautiful. It is minimalistic without being overly intricate, leaving the chemistry between the actors to convey the power struggle between love and the test of time. In order to extract some emotion - and often the tears and tissues - from the audience, Morgan has included some shattering one-liners and touching dialogue exchanges between the protagonists that even the most stoney-hearted may not be unaffected by. However, more comical moments provide some light-hearted relief that also depict the loving nature of Billy and Maggie's relationship, despite the darker times they face with Maggie's life becoming a ticking clock...
The emotion from the audiences that Frantic Assembly seek to evoke is not only produced by the dialogue and movement; the production elements also serve the purpose. The video projection onto the stage featuring the natural beauty of nature and freedom coupled with often melancholic acoustic notes do not help in the struggle to fight back the waterworks for the sake of social dignity. Believe me - and I self-conciously glimpsed around the auditorium ofen enough to know this - "there wasn't a dry eye in the house".
I couldn't reflect back on the show with any more fondness than I have now; even if at times the dialogue was a little vague - making the content slightly more difficult to comprehend - it is brought to life superbly by a delightful fusion of both younger and older actors. It disproves the myth that physical theatre must always be thoroughly intense and packed with flamboyant, dynamic actions; the more simple movements - particularly between the older Billy and his wife's former self - and interactions speak more about their relationship that could stretch beyond even Morgan's dialogue.
Some shows you will walk away from without feeling even a hint of emotion, that you may never really feel the need to talk about in great depth again. Lovesong - a tale of love and time - has made me remember my fears that one day I will be nothing more than a distant memory to someone; or worse, forgotten completely. But it also has reminded me to live life to its fullest; even if the odds are stacked against my favour. It has reinforced that love happens to all of us; and when it does, to accept it - and to accept the course of true love never did run smooth. Surely, those simple lessons from Lovesong can eclipse my fears entirely.
A weepy but wonderful night of theatre; if there's anything to thank my Performing Arts teachers for...
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