“Have you ever felt like your body was at the mercy of everything and everyone?”
Felicity’s Score: 2 Ikea stools
Playwright Eliza Oliver has written I (Love) You, a dystopian piece about truth and autonomy. Set in a future where implants control our actions, a couple navigate the effect an anti-lying brain modification has on their relationship.
I’m a creature of habit AKA was in the front row. No gin and tonic (shock horror), but I did have sangria with my tacos for dinner so…moderation.
I really loved the idea of this play, huge fan of Black Mirror, so I was a bit confused when we walked into a set that looked like a half assembled Ikea display. With red tones through the stage (bean bag and rugs, if you’re into specificity), the blue/green lighting was a bit alienating. An interesting effect that dissolved immediately when the opening scene demanded warmth.
I did enjoy the kitsch-y voice overs at the start though, they forced a smile, they really did.
Like the opening lighting, I found myself feeling jarred quite often through the play, and I was really confused about when it was starting. The premise of the plot seemed to be a guest star rather than main theme, and a few movement pieces begged for tighter choreography. The sound effects between scenes aided the thematic intention of the play, but became tired. Tiny inconsistencies became distracting for me; not using the same exit for leaving the house and going to the bedroom each time, cleaning up but not properly (you know? if you’re going to do something I really love to watch you do it…).
I do have to give credit where it is due. Chelsea Needham offers sweet and affable character, infecting the space with warmth when she’s given the chance. Cassandra Sorrell has a strong movement sequence. I wanted more of Sorrell trying (not?) to punch paper, more not-paper-punching please! I did find it difficult to track the relationship, Sorrell’s character seems on again and off again and it’s hard to see how and why the changes happen – I assume that’s a directorial choice. Needham and Sorrell produce some satisfying shapes on stage, whether it be scabies or pregnancy, floor work suits them both.
I (Love) You at the Old 505 Theatre Newtown aspires to establish itself as a futuristic sci-fi comedy but feels empty in its furniture store setting. And I didn’t get the sweet potato baby thing.
Felicity Anderson – Theatre Now Sydney
I (Love) You
Eliza Oliver
18 – 29 Jun 2019
Tuesday – Saturday 8pm
Venue: The Old 505 Theatre
Theatre Company: N/A
Duration: N/A
A wild and unnerving love-story.
I (Love) You is set in the not-too-distant future. It tracks the explosive, intimate space between two individuals whose trust rapidly and unexpectedly decays as government-regulated technology, implanted in their bodies, begins to fracture them from each other and their reality.
Ticket Prices
$45 Premium Adults* / $40 Adults / $30 Concession, Industry & Under 30 / ‘Pay what you want’ Previews
* Premium Adult patrons will be given first choice of seating each performance night. As well as securing the best seats in the house, it gives you a chance to invest further in the development of the work you are seeing and allows the Old 505 Theatre to continue to be a vital incubation space for new work.
