Mr and Mrs Love is a jukebox-esque musical that would work a lot better if it relied more on the strength of its actors as singers rather than force a plot on them.
Doughty and Marion have an easy chemistry and great banter
Love gurus Mr (James Doughty) and Mrs (Stephanie Marion) Love present their talk show where they incorporate musical and pop numbers into their act as they give advice about what it takes to have a successful relationship. On top of this, they use music in order to try and solve the cracks that have formed in their relationship.
This musical would benefit from a smaller stage or if it were turned into a cabaret performance. Whilst there is a lot of choreography that requires space, but pieces of set - like the piano - are just too far back, so when Doughty and Marion move to certain parts of the stage, it creates too much distance that becomes a little unsettling after a while. Even if you’re in the front row, the pair just feel very far away, and it's just a little off-putting, like we don’t feel particularly involved and there doesn’t seem like a particular effort made to bridge the gap between us and the actors. Although, there is a silver lining to this distance in that it means that we're not too close to the simulated sex. It’s still uncomfortable and completely unnecessary but at least it’s not being shoved in our faces. Even though it only happens twice (three times if you count the burlesque number), it's still very very graphic, jarring and doesn’t really add anything except to quickly alienate us.
The selection of songs in Mr and Mrs Love is superb, their familiar, catchy and high-energy as well as give the Doughty and Marion the opportunity to show-off their vocal abilities. The pair's musical talent is astonishing, not only their singing ability, but also the sheer range of instruments that they are able to play. This becomes especially clear as the characters go through the difficulties and problems relationships could face in which there is a significant degree of anger and tension that is built up and is released as a kind of musical catharsis. During this part of the show, the pair battle it out through songs like Bad Romance and You Give Love a Bad Name which are accompanied by a keytar and accordion at various points. Doughty and Marion have an easy chemistry and great banter that lead to many humorous moments.
This musical is interesting, there does seem to be a kind of cheesy cuteness within the plot, but because of the range of songs covered as well as the strength of Doughty and Marion’s musical ability, it seems it would work better as a cabaret, or at least on a smaller stage without so much explicitness.
