This was a collaboration made in theatre heaven. Performed by Frantic Assembly, written by Abi Morgan of Paines Plough, and designed by Julian Crouch of Improbable Theatre, it is a story of how if you are frightened of death you cannot live life to the full, and if you fear losing the one you love, you cannot love at all.
The force of this show lies in its tenderness and the simplicity of the actors' performances. Friends since childhood, careful Lucien, a risk assessment officer, and wayward Anthony, a homeless wanderer, have both loved and lost the same woman. Once a year Lucien takes Anthony on holiday and this year they meet Madeline and history threatens to repeat itself: a holiday romance becomes a love triangle as the two men fall for the same woman.
Played out on a sparse decking stage with lights glittering like stars in the background, scenes with Frantic's trademark movement style flow between flickering video projections and haunting music creating an atmosphere of balmy summer days and hinting at passionate undercurrents redolent of summer romance. The stories of chance survival from a lightning strike, and the fear of loss and the pain of love, and never saying quite what you mean even though you should, are performed with refreshing honesty. This is a show that courses through your veins like a love tonic and leaves you invigorated by its depth of feeling.