Love is a Battlefield - 80s Rock Meets Noir

Maybe it's just luck. This year's Fringe has settled into an overall thematic arc for me about substance abuse and bad decision making. Temptation in this case comes from spirits, and not just the spirit of adventure. We know there is ego involved, as well as power and control. Who has it, and who wants it?

Temptation, history, short term choices balancing long term preferences. Albee and Pinter might nod at the homage. The audience responded well to the continuous reveals, and the plot thickened nicely as the temperature was raised through reluctant alcohol-fuelled reveals.

The simple, functional set supported the actors well, and their performances pulled me into the story. Dockery particularly gave a good performance as a man with seemingly few options and many secrets, a perfect patsy being played all the way through. Quesnelle’s singing voice produced a serviceable rendition of the Pat Benatar anthem, though I found myself wishing for slightly better projection during her dialog parts. If you like your drama classically fun, then this is a great little project to catch. The final note; Dockery and Quesnelle have DVDs available for sale after the show, so hopefully their sales will enable the duo to complete their tour back to the Big Apple by wing instead of canine transport!