On Tuesday 24th January the LVth, accompanied by JLC, NIL, IMA and LJB, travelled to the Lyric Hammersmith theatre to enjoy Frantic Assembly’s latest production, ‘Lovesong’. Having participated in a Frantic Assembly-led workshop on Sunday, learning a variety of exercises Frantic use to create visceral theatre, all were keen to see how the company had used the techniques on stage.
The show charted the life, and death, of a couple. Two actors, one older and one younger, played each character, portraying a man and woman at the end of their life. As they looked back over their time together, their older and younger selves interacted in several physical theatre sequences – these moments were moving and beautifully illustrated the journey of their love, with its peaks and troughs, and a yearning for the past, which the older couple could never fully retrieve. The LVth were struck by the effectiveness of techniques they themselves had learned in the workshop: lifts, leans and work in a small space, all practised on Sunday, found their full potential in ‘Lovesong’ as aid to the powerful story of a touchingly simple lifetime. Strong naturalistic acting and a melodic instrumental score ensured that, by the end, more than a few found themselves a little choked up.
The LVth will now use Frantic’s techniques to enhance their own pieces of theatre – ‘Rabbit’ and ‘Tender’, the latter of which was written by the same playwright as ‘Lovesong’.
LJB
Back to all news
