In what some may say a modern day Romeo and Juliet of sorts, Dirty Laundry Theatre and The Tank have revived their hit play Borders (written by Nimrod Danishman) for a virtual audience, following a successful run in April 2020.

Recognised by Time Out New York as the “Best Theatre to watch online”, two actors perform the piece live from their own homes using only their phones, before it is effortlessly live edited into a split screen, multimedia format.

Directed by Michael R. Piazza, Borders is a tale of forbidden love and centres on George (Adrian Rifat) and Boaz (Eli M. Shoenfeld), two gay men who meet on Grindr. When they soon realise that they are interested in one another and plan to meet, then comes the revelation that this is going to be near impossible. They may only live some 20km from each other but living in Jerusalem and Lebanon, a physical border separates them.

Running at 70 minutes via a closed YouTube link, the play opens with an image of the moon (which is later very poignant), followed by video footage with accompanying Middle Eastern music. These locational shots are also interspersed amongst the play scenes to reinforce the setting of the piece, possibly the most important fact.

The first scene sees a phone screen with messages popping up to echo the actor’s dialogue. This then merges into a three-way split screen with one performer each side, setting a visual border. Minor technical difficulties aside, such as the sync between Boaz’s speech and visuals, the material rolls along like a video call; a bit rough around the edges but with real authenticity.

This is a very exposing format for Rifat and Shoenfeld, something that they deal with remarkably well. They both deliver strong performances and appear totally invested in the piece.

Both actors set up their characters in a certain way, with Boaz sexually promiscuous and George wanting something on a deeper level but it later appears that love is actually the barrier for Boaz, when talking about his separation from his first love. It is for this reason that Shoenfeld goes on more of a journey with his character.

When opening up to one another, the phone separating them onscreen disappears but the Grindr messages continue to be shown as captions, reminding the audience that they are still communicating via an online chat platform.

Whilst their story seemingly unfolds very quickly due to there being no concept of time, you feel very connected to the characters and will them to meet in their planned location of Berlin. Without revealing any spoilers, things do not entirely go to plan.

A powerful and cleverly devised piece of theatre for a modern, virtual age.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Jenny Ell

Borders is available to stream until 27 February and is then available on demand from 28 February – 13 March.