Subtitled A Queer Love Story and supported by Homotopia (by whom it was awarded a Best New Writing award) A Billion Times I Love You, is a new one act play by Patrick Maguire that places a lesbian couple very firmly centre stage. In itself this is an important move for the Everyman, reinforcing creative director Suba Das’ mission to make the theatre a place for everyone, but what is particularly clever about this choice is the way in which it is so universal.
Maguire’s writing feels completely natural and the themes and emotions explored in the play will surely strike a chord with everyone in the audience. Jesse and Taylor have both surprised themselves by building a life of simple domesticity together, the sort of commitment neither of them believed they would make. We meet them seemingly in the middle of a cosy night in with wine and music, but soon events take us beneath the surface to reveal more turbulent undercurrents.
They have reached a turning point in their relationship. External commitments have made time alone together a rare commodity, but that isn’t all. When Taylor verbally expresses her love, Jesse is unable to say the words back, which opens up a conversation neither of them want to have.
Suspended in the emptiness of the Everyman’s stage, Olivia Du Monceau’s simple set design feels almost claustrophobic. The canvas-covered square might be a minimalist apartment, but at times it almost resembles a boxing ring. The couple are sometimes cocooned by it and at others almost imprisoned. Even when Jesse sets off on her journey to work she is unable to break free of the space, pacing around the raised perimeter.
A small amount of simple furniture – a couple of cabinets and some boxes – are moved about the enclosure representing shifts in time and place. This movement is part of an overall choreography that at times silences the voices and takes over the narrative. These passages of physical theatre give expression to some of the emotions that need no words. Between them director Jessica Meade and movement director Grace Goulding turn Maguires text into a ballet of dialogue.
Mary Higgins and Melissa Lowe are Jesse and Taylor, and they both animate their characters with absolute commitment and honesty, and their performances, both vocal and physical, ring resoundingly true. A pulsating soundtrack by Liverpool band Crawlers energises and punctuates the piece, while Chris Davey’s lighting keeps the mood and temperature shifting from scene to scene.
At times the repeated gnawing at the same wounds can be frustrating, but that is of course rather the point. In the end these are emotional traps that we all can either identify with or easily imagine falling into. Whilst the closing scene might feel a little too neat and too sudden, there is still an air of ambiguity about it. This is certainly a story for everyone, but telling it from the perspective of these two women is of huge importance.
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| Melissa Lowe and Mary Higgins - image © Mhairi Bell-Moodie |
Star rating – 4 stars
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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