Written by Chris Issacs, Old Love is the latest play from Perth’s theatrical super-group The Last Great Hunt. Fans of the emerging collectives work so far will not be disappointed; Old Love is full of humour, wit and captivating characters, from the sophisticated and sultry older woman Florence (Nicola Bartlett) to the younger vitriolic foot-in-mouth high flying business woman Gabby (Arielle Gray).
The premise is a simple one; Bobby (Tim Watts) – at one time a serial womaniser – is bringing his new girlfriend of three months to dinner to meet his best friends Jim (Nick Maclaine) and Gabby for the first time.
Cue expectations! Will she be blonde? (Like the last half a dozen) Will it last? (The rest didn’t).
Florence, the new girl in Bobby’s life, turns out to be somewhere in the region of sixty, and a grandmother-adventurer-mechanic-dancer-naked swimmer. In short, expectations were well and truly smashed. Jim manages to at least be casual about it. Gabby on the other hand can’t help but say the wrong thing – old people are her kryptonite after all – though the wine/vodka combo probably won’t have helped.
Much of the shows humour comes from the interactions between the two women, Gabby’s missteps and Florence’s subtle manipulation of the situation. Old Love definitely benefits from the intimacy of the Blue Room; with the audience so close to the action you almost feel part of the action. I also felt there was almost a televised sit-com aesthetic to the whole thing, with somewhat larger than life characters in a suburban domestic setting. I could almost imagine some canned laughter over the top of the action (not that they needed it).
Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the production I did feel that there was a little bit of fine-tuning still required. The seahorse element of the play, though providing a fantastic analogy for Gabby and Jim’s relationship felt a little unnecessary, or at least slightly underdeveloped. I also felt slightly unconvinced by how Jim and Florence’s relationship developed (Spoilers) and whilst alcohol no doubt played some part in what took place between the two I struggled to completely understand that particular creative choice.
Old Love is a funny and well-paced production. Full of great lines, captivating characters and wonderful performances, the production is sure to be a favourite with Perth audiences (and beyond)!
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Old Love plays at Perth’s Blue Room Theatre until May 2nd For more information and tickets please visit: http://blueroom.org.au/events/oldlove
The reviewer attended opening night on April 16th.
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