The Putney Players, a US ensemble comprised of High School students who only met three weeks ago, bring an original interview-based docu-play to the Fringe for the fifth year. Their analysis of love, however, scratches no further than the sugar-sweet surface.
For the past twenty-one days, The Putney Players have been interviewing strangers all over the UK, asking questions like Have you ever been in love? and What do you think of intimacy? From their findings, the seventeen strong cast, directed by Shannon Michael Wamser and Jennifer Lafleur, have created a series of short vignettes, monologues and scenes describing that all-confusing emotion everyone craves. Whether you believe its forever, about covering someone with whipped cream, ordering a double macchiato or simply a rush of endorphins, you should find your thoughts echoed by this ensemble.
With lots of well-delivered poetry and earnestly spoken song lyrics, this production has the potential to be a little bit lovely if youre in a soppy mood. However, it rarely exerts itself further than clichés. The Housewives Handbook to Happiness scene, for example, falls short of a serious gender critique and theres little attempt to question the dangers of love. What about those destroyed by it, those who misplace it and those to whom it is forever unrequited? This cute production may make you smile, but it wont provoke any deep thoughts and you may leave cursing that chemical reaction.
