Writer: Jenny Bushell
Director: Lauren Ellis-Stretch
In 2022, ALRA (the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts), formally a well-respected performing arts college, chaotically closed it’s doors half way through the final term of the year, citing financial difficulties. Hundreds of students and staff were left reeling from the unexpected early end to their training. Jenny Bushell and a number of the cast of her debut play, Lovemaking To An Inappropriate Soundtrack, were some of those unfortunate students. But, if this production is anything to go by, the chaotic start to their careers has only made them stronger as they embark on what will undoubtedly be long and successful ones.
Bushell has produced a beautifully crafted play made up of short vignettes about love, sex, joy and heartbreak. It’s a cleverly paced mix of drama and comedy, at times barrelling along, at others offering moment of stillness. The dialogue is sharp and well observed, delivered naturally by the cast, but they’re equally comfortable with the long and poignant pauses that punctuate the script. It’s a skilled writer and cast – and an enrapt audience – that can sit so comfortably with silences like these.
At the heart of everything here is love – friends, lovers, casual sex partners, first dates, final and fleeting meetings, straight and Queer love. We watch couples fight, express their feelings, frustrations, and regrets. Bushell has a knack for recreating the toe-curlingly embarrassing moments, the chance meetings you’d rather not have and the awkward misunderstandings. It’s all so gloriously human, recognisable and imperfect.
A very talented cast play multiple characters. Christie Reynolds switches from cheeky scouser to uptight posh girl with ease, Katy Smith delivers some killer comic lines, and Liam Wheeler brilliantly embodies the awkwardness of young love. But it’s the fact that the whole cast are so strong – and are clearly loving the chance to share this killer script – that makes this episodic play work so well.
Lauran Ellis-Stretch’s direction is tight. Scene changes, which could so easily become tedious and clunky, are smoothed out with fun choreographed moves and a slew of genuinely funny memes by Creative Captioner Emily Bold, which are projected at the back of the stage. These alone are worth the ticket price.
With just two nights at 53two, this production, presented by Manchester based Peripeteia Theatre needs a longer run because it’s a highly recommended night out.
Reviewed on 16 July 2016
