147 QUESTIONS ABOUT LOVE | STAGE REVIEW
Volcano Theatre, Swansea, Tues 7 July
Volcano have followed up their explosive, brilliant adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull with a piece that couldn’t be more different in tone and style, but no less an intriguing theatre experience for that. Hemmed into a tiny space just about big enough for two people to stand and move in, 147 Questions About Love explores the frank intimacy of relationships through a series of questions inspired by the novel The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell.
Set against a wooden structure with a variety of weird and wonderful vintage objects hanging from the wall, the piece unfolds against this backdrop of ephemera like a slightly surreal episode of Antiques Roadshow. I particularly liked the old-fashioned 1970s wooden tennis racquet and the toy dinosaur erupting from the wall, amongst vinyl Waltz records and oversize crucifixes.
Placed against this scenario are the two performers, who invite us into a candid and close-up view of a relationship through language and dance. The man asks questions, the woman responds with choreographed movement, the shapes she makes responding directly to the questions asked. In doing so the audience becomes more complicit in the action, until the questions are turned on us.
There are no ‘characters’ as such in this piece; neither is there a plot, or story. But what we get is a fascinating insight into the rhythms of a relationship. Paul Davies gives an Eeyore-like weary performance as the interrogator, literally climbing the walls out of frustration, whilst Catherine Bennett moves beautifully across a space barely big enough for a three-step waltz. As the questions build we get a sense of what keeps this couple together, the familiarity of domestic life juxtaposed against ethical notions of personal and civic responsibility. Asking questions usually demands a response. By offering no answers to 147 questions about love, we perceive our own life choices in a new and vibrant way.
words ALEX WREN