Taking a Love Pill at the End of the World

 

Rating: 4 Stars

The Hope Theatre.

18th May 2024

‘’Just so you know sir, this play contains implied drug use, pregnancy regret, emotional manipulation, and other potentially distressing themes’’.

Right……

That’s a lot of trigger warnings to pack into a box office brief. ‘What the hell have I signed up for?’ I thought, as I made my way up to the small studio theatre. What I wasn’t expecting was a gripping and entertaining dive into the extremes of pursuing a crumbling relationship.

The apocalypse is on its way, and in a small kitchen in England a couple are facing their final days…….

The final days of their relationship! Igg and Tom have been together since university, but the spark has well and truly faded. Now, they can barely stand to be in the same room as each other. But wait! Science has found a way to help! Forget therapy, there’s a new pill that can force you to fall in love, marry and have babies. Sounds……..legitimate. Oh, and did I mention that the world is ending?  Whole sections of the country are locked off, food is limited, fires are burning, and the kitchen tape is leaking brown sludge!

This is what I love about good new writing, Sam Smithsons’ script combines a thought-provoking question, with an extraordinary setting. How far will someone go to keep a dead relationship alive? What is ethical and what isn’t? If we rely on drugs are emotions really our own? As we consider these points, we are very much aware that we have been placed in a world that mirrors the relationship of our two protagonists……it too is dying.

Speaking of our protagonists, the excellence of the writing is only further amplified by the performances of Charlotte East (Igg) and James Baxter-Derrington (Tom). The opening scene is nothing short of beautifully awkward, filled with perfectly timed silences, tension and much uncomfortable eating. Baxter-Derrington is delightfully pathetic in his demeanour, whilst East masterfully portrays a woman at the end of her tether. As the scene plays out one thing is clear, these two should not be together.

The remainder of the show plays out over two additional scenes, where we not only draw closer to the end of the world, but also see a dramatic power shift. Easts’ Igg has taken the magic love pill, and now finds herself heavily pregnant with Toms child. Here is where the acting goes up another notch, as we see East seamlessly switch between feelings of love and deep regret at her choice, all the while feeling the presence of Baxter-Derrington’s gradually overbearing Tom. The final act cumulates with Igg, now a new mother, escaping from the man she doesn’t love into a world of fire and destruction, all while accompanied by Wil Pitchards’ brilliantly imposing score.

‘Taking a Love Pill at the End of the World’ is an inspiringly well written and brilliantly acted piece. My only criticism is that one hour wasn’t long enough! The time flew by, and I found myself wanting to see more of this ending world, and our doomed duo. If this play ever gets made into a full length two act feature, then I will definitely be in the front row. Until then I will watch both Smithsons’ career and that of his actors with great interest. More please!