LOVESONG BY ABI MORGAN
Can you picture the melting clock in Dali’s famous surreal landscapes? That powerful image of time as a viscous fluid, disappearing before our eyes, gradually leaking into oblivion, came to mind while watching ‘Lovesong’ on Digital Theatre. Filmed in 2012 at the Lyric, the play (which I missed then) is all about that slippery will-o-the-wisp we call ‘time’. I say ‘watched’ but frankly I could only gaze at the play through tearful eyes; it is deeply moving without being in the least sentimental, achingly sad without being morbid.
Abi Morgan’s love story time-warps us through the 40 years’ marriage of Maggie (Siân Phillips) and Billy (Sam Cox). That sometimes bumpy relationship is drawing to a close as Maggie’s increasing and terminal frailty forces the couple into making some drastic preparations. The powerful poignancy of the piece is further ratcheted up by the presence of their younger selves about to begin their journey into a long but childless marriage. Pain is never far away and the constancy of their relationship is tested as the years march on.
The two couples share the stage as past and present melt into one. There is a deal of clever staging: characters disappearing into wardrobes, coming out of the fridge or emerging like the Kraken from some subterranean time world beneath the bed. If this sounds tricksy (add in powerful video backdrops and an intensely moving underscore), it isn’t – all is perfectly pitched and done with beautifully judged finesse.
The magic realism of the story is also enhanced by occasional balletic movements well delivered by the older couple Phillips who was pushing 80 when the play was filmed is an astonishing dancer. She also gives a beautifully understated performance as the old lady wracked by physical pain and dark memory. Cox is equally pitch perfect as the old man grown irascible, haunted by a sense of loss except for one thing, the most important thing, his boundless love for Maggie. Leanne Rowe and Edward Bennett too are perfectly cast as the young couple whose dreams did not stand that cruellest of tests, the test of time.
The shortish play is gripping and intense, the inspired direction, Morgan’s poetic writing, the choreography and acting are of the highest order. ‘Lovesong’ worked as a Dali timepiece but made one ache for a recent past when such lovely works of art could be enjoyed in real time. In the meantime, I thoroughly recommend the £9.99 monthly subscription to Digital Theatre. Make time for this play.
https://www.digitaltheatre.com/
