LoveSong: has the ring of truth

Actors Aaron Hutchinson and Elizabeth Kirkland are credited in the program as co-collaborators with playwright Melissa Haller. Hutchison and Kirkland brought their own relationship experience to bear on Haller's original script and the result is the ring of truth in what is said and how it's spoken.

Nuance is king - or should that be queen - when it comes to the dance of intimacy, and LoveSong captures that nuance perfectly. First person narration, spare but effective reenactments and journal entries propel the narrative forward, from first meeting through to love's illogical conclusion.

When he says "I love you" and she doesn't respond in kind, his words hang in the air like smoke from a fire that smolders but fails to ignite. Thus the dance begins, a pas-de-deux in the turbulent ocean of romantic love, where many a savvy mariner has run aground in rocky shallows.

She leaves her socks in the middle of the floor. He wants more. She feels like she's suffocating. He tells her she's locked up tight. Words spoken cannot be taken back ... they hover between them like the sheet he suggests they hang to divide the apartment so she can have her own space.

LoveSong, which might benefit from a title with a touch more gravitas, ends on a poignant note.  In its tender specificity it demonstrates that something as mysterious, painful and complex as romantic love can also be transcendent.   

As effective as a session with a couples' therapist and definitely more fun!

LoveSong is part of this year's Vancouver Fringe. Find out more here.