Lovesong

'Lovesong" is a one act play written by award winning writer Abi Morgan OBE and was first performed in September 2011. The play was said to be inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. 

The venue for this Chorley Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society (CADOS) production was their intimate Studio Theatre which was an excellent venue to stage this very emotional one act play. However, I have to say I did go to see this play on one of the hottest days of the year and, unfortunately, it was rather uncomfortable in the theatre, although the audience were given bottles of water on entering the building. But happily I have to say that the quality of this production and the performances by the four actors made up for the rather uncomfortable situation and I still really enjoyed the play very much.

The play revolves around the lives of William (David Walker) and Margaret (Susan Hilton). Early in their marriage they were known as Billy (Ashley Mcloughlin) and Maggie (Gemma Nightingale) who emigrated from England to the United States and shortly after emigrating Billy, who was a Dentist, sets up his own Practice which explains why the play begins with older William talking about his philosophical theory of brushing his teeth and how important this routine is to him. William and Margaret have been married for forty years, however, Margaret is now ill and is in a lot of pain, unfortunately she is now only coping with the help of pain killers and sadly she is planning to take her own life to end her suffering. So at this point in their lives William and Margaret separately and together both look back and remember their life experiences, intertwining memories of their younger selves with their daily lives in the present. 

Making her directorial debut for CADOS was Amber Tabiner who produced a beautiful thought provoking and poignant production with the help of Robert Walsh as Producer. This was an ensemble piece and all four members of the cast produced wonderful performances that were very emotional and heart wrenching at times. They all expertly produced the different emotions that were needed to tell the story, such as sadness, happiness, passion, desire, and anger. I also felt that the casting was spot on as there was good rapport between each couple and it was totally believable that Billy and Maggie were a younger version of William and Margaret which was very Important for this play to work.There was some good direction as the two couples moved around each other while entering and exiting the stage. They sometimes shared the stage together as past and present become one and occasionally the younger and older selves interacted with each other which was very emotional and sometimes quite sad, as we see the older couple yearn for what has gone. We see the ups and downs of their relationship, such as Billy’s drinking, the the loneliness, the affairs and how not being able to have children had a massive affect on their lives, but we also see Joy, happiness and love in this haunting and beautiful tale of togetherness

The action took place on a set made up from large a small props as there was no scenery, it was simple but affective. There was a kitchen to one side of the stage and a bed situated on a raised dias representing a bedroom, on the back wall was a screen where film sequences accompanied by haunting music were shown helping mark various points in William and Margaret’s life over the years which enhanced the story and the action beautifully, these sequences were put together by Robert Walsh the Producer. Well done to all the backstage crew, set builders, props and Paul Carr for the excellent technical input and the lovely costumes from Rebecca Dickinson and Amber Tabiner I really liked young Maggie’s dresses.

Congratulations to everyone involved including front of house in bringing this excellent emotional production to the stage especially during an unprecedented heatwave. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon, so thank you for inviting me I hope to see you again soon.

 

 

 

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