A quaint meander down memory lane - The Love Project

The Love Project is the product of a series of interviews with people from a wide variety of age brackets and pockets of society, quizzed on their attitudes towards love. The small cast of four comprises Michael Cusick, Rachel Dale, Toby Manley and Natasha Pring, who each bring to life the views of three or four of the interviewees. In this work of pure verbatim, the participants’ transcripts haven’t been altered in any way. Not only do the audience hear their tales in their own words, but we are also treated to hearing each of the individual’s quirks of speech: from the false starts to the numerous self-corrections, and even some nervous laughter. In their programme notes, Every Day theatre company states that it “focus[es] on magnifying everyday stories”, and with these quaint, heart-warming and honest accounts of love, that is exactly what it delivers.

Whilst the audience are taking their seats, a selection of the nation’s favourite love songs plays. The stage design is simple, with just four wooden chairs, a battered sofa and a selection of personal photographs suspended from the ceiling. What strikes me initially about The Love Projectis how well-paced it is and how seamlessly the transitions between characters occur. It is testament to their versatility as actors that Manley and Dale can swiftly switch from playing Bill and Cora, an elderly couple who have been married for 56 years, to the highly comical infantile brother and sister duo, Louis and Drew. We hear anecdotal snapshots of their relationships, such as the time that Cora refused to speak to Bill for three days after having a spat over which is the correct way to cut a sandwich. We also meet a rather meek retail worker called Andy, who proposed to his overbearing girlfriend Amy during the ad break of an episode of Big Brother. Although the subject matter of these 14 characters’ anecdotes is nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary, it still makes for engaging viewing. In The Love Project, director Ellie Browning has successfully created an intimate piece that almost feels like you have been invited into somebody’s home for a warm cup of tea, whilst they talk you through their family photo albums.

This piece of documentary-style theatre presents us with an array of couples and singletons who share their musings of what the elusive concept of love means to them – from tales of failed online dating, to one of my personal favourite characters, Myles, who comically once found himself dangling from a rooftop in the pursuit of love. There is no denying that this is a sweet and enjoyable way to spend an hour; however, I find it a little disappointing that the piece doesn’t build towards a climax of any sort. Instead it just seems to fizzle out, which is a real shame. In short,The Love Project is more of a quaint meander down memory lane with no clear destination.