LOVE AND MONEY | STAGE REVIEW
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Thurs 11 Apr
words: GARETH LUDKIN
★★★★☆
Having recently enjoyed Utopia – Dennis Kelly’s visceral, sharp and endlessly intuitive Channel 4 drama series – I was extremely excited to see that his celebrated 2006 play, Love And Money, was to receive its Welsh premiere at Chapter Arts Centre before a three-week tour around Wales courtesy of the fantastic Waking Exploits theatre company.
As with much of Kelly’s writing, Love And Money is beautifully structured with plenty of clever humour and a brilliantly intriguing and interweaving plot which keeps its audience engrossed as lapses in time, place and character finally come together toward the end of the production.
Once again drawn to pertinent contemporary topics, Kelly’s musings on the power of money over love and desire are thought-provoking and engaging. The play opens with a fraught and revealing email exchange between David (played by the fantastic Will Thorp who stands out throughout) and a recent French lover. Acting out both parts of the email exchange (complete with strained French accent), his character reveals how he, under a suffocating mountain of debt, helped to kill his wife Jess after she botches a suicide attempt. From here the play works backwards as we are alerted to the extent of his wife’s spending addiction and David’s inability to find a way through the minefield of poorly paid jobs and a wife who can’t help but spend money they do not have. All the players in the couple’s downfall are revealed; from Jess’s parents, stricken with grief and trying to make sense of her death; the banker who offers attractive and dangerous credit to vulnerable customers for his own personal gain; and those looking to take advantage of David whilst he tries to make enough money to pay off the debts accrued by his wife.
Revealing the power of money to destroy lives and distort any perspective on love or compassion for others , Love And Money is a cautionary tale ably brought to life by the play’s faultless cast. Each character was believable, evocative and packed with humours quirks and comedic lines characteristic of Kelly’s writing. As an audience we were able to laugh and also shed a tear as Kelly’s fantastic humour and his fluid and liberal use of language made individual monologues revealing, enriching and extremely captivating. Waking Exploits have once again triumphed with another sharp and contemporary piece of theatre which strikes at the heart of modern society. Dennis Kelly’s writing stands out, but the direction manages to do the piece justice.
Info: www.wakingexploits.co.uk
TOUR DATES:
10 –19 April 2013
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
8.00PM
Box Office
+44 (0)29 2030 4400
www.chapter.org
23 April 2013
Galeri, Caernarfon
7.30PM
Box Office
+44 (0)12 8668 5250
www.galericaernarfon.com
25 April 2013
Pontardawe Arts Centre, Pontardawe
7.30PM
Box Office
+44 (0)17 9286 3722
www.pontardaweartscentre.com
30 April 2013
Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth
7.30PM
Box Office
+44 (0)19 7062 3232
www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk
2 May 2012
Halliwell, Carmarthen
7.30PM
Box Office
+44 (0)12 6722 2252
www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk/en/halliwell/
09 May 2013
Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea
7.30PM
Box Office
+44 (0)17 9229 5238
www.taliesinartscentre.co.uk