I’m not much interested in romantic love.
And I’m not a reviewer.
I write about what plays make me think and feel.
I’m not particularly keen on evaluation. Sure, there’s a place for it. But it smacks of the early stages of a relationship. Before real love develops.
Heart Dot Com deals exactly with that stage. The ‘desperately hoping someone will find us lovable’ stage. There’s much humour in this – and the deepest of all sadnesses.
And it’s all wonderfully distilled in this multi-artist project. Writers Luke Carson, Ellana Costa, Jasper Marlow, Katie Pollock and Alison Rooke have created characters who itch with desire and ache with loneliness.
From her extraordinary ensemble (Felix Gentle, Paul Hooper, Madeleine Jones, Tim Reuben and Randa Sayed) director Olivia Satchell elicits performances that are both funny and moving. And Satchell’s staging is beautiful – simple and poignant, and the final image is an affecting portrait of shared isolation.
Ok, despite my initial statement, there does seem to be an awful lot of evaluation in this response.
Or is it just affection? Affection for a piece that explores what just might be a universal – the desire to be loved.
I’m not much interested in romantic love.
It won’t save us.
Real love is the connection with all beings, and the wish to limit their pain and help them flourish. It proceeds from the realisation of the strength of their desires and, as a result, the depth of their vulnerability.
And theatre like this is the perfect place to rekindle – or begin – that real love affair.
Veronica Kaye
Heart Dot Com
TAP Gallery until Oct 14
Theatre Red 
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