Review: Modern Romance (Drayton Arms Theatre)

I was invited to review Modern Romance at the Drayton Arms Theatre the week before Valentine’s Day. Described as comedy that makes you reflect, for people who are tired of heart-shaped cliches, I went along to find out more.

Written by Giles Fernando and directed by Penny Gkritzapi, Modern Romance is a sequence of discussions by twelve couples revealing how they first met, half of the couples appearing on stage and the others on a screen.

The segments that appeared on the screen are part of a series that was originally on YouTube and indeed this was the original format of Modern Romance. The use of the same furniture both on stage and in the videos gave continuity between the two formats.

The casting and character traits were satisfyingly diverse, and all of the actors were well chosen for their roles. Some of the couples had quirky but amusing stories to tell and others ranged from unusual to frankly quite alarming, but these variations were well written and explored a wide range of situations well. The comedy was also cleverly written to strike a chord with different people in the audience at different times.

On the night I saw this show, we also had an additional bit of unexpected theatre magic, the kind of which I love, as one cast member couldn’t make it and another stood in to play an additional role.  This was done exceptionally well with little time to prepare. I have always had the upmost respect for covers, but at such short notice this really did hold the show together. Huge credit to Kait Feeney for playing two different roles authentically, and for inspiring another idea I’ll mention later.

On the day I quite enjoyed the variation in media between the screen and stage. However, the performances we saw on stage have remained in my memory longer than those on the screen due to the more visceral connection with the live performances. Although the presentation as a series of almost interview style chats with each couple is interesting as a format, I do think the show would be even more engaging either with an introduction or links between each couple (or both). 

My dream development for this show (inspired by the cover performance I saw on the night) would be the performance being entirely staged and one person from the first couple remaining and being joined by a new actor and so on… reflecting changes in people’s relationships and friendships with the passing of time. This would add a fluidity to the sequence of events.

In summary, Modern Romance was an enjoyable production and has the potential to develop into a must-see show.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

This run of Modern Romance has now finished.

If you would like to see more of my curtain call photographs from this and other shows, please visit my Instagram.

I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.