Review: LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS, Harold Pinter Theatre

Photo credit: Johan Persson

Well Besties, we did consider whether it might be a clever trick to write a 140 word review but as Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons shows, 140 words isn’t as many as you might think. Plus, we’d be wasting five each time we mentioned the title!

With a witty nod to Twitter’s original policy of 140 characters per tweet, in Sam Steiner’s Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, we enter a world where each person is restricted by law to only speak 140 words each day. In the poignant two hander, we see Bernadette and Oliver, played by Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who, Victoria, The Serpent) and Aidan Turner (The Suspect, Poldark) respectively, navigate their relationship from a chance meeting at a funeral for a dead cat, to falling in love and moving in together, followed by the introduction of the aforementioned Hush Law. 

None of this happens in sequence however, as the scenes jump around various points of the relationship, some before the law, others afterwards, and some last only a few seconds. Josie Rourke’s clever direction and Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster’s light-footed choreography moves us swiftly through the couple’s trajectory. This is further enhanced by Aideen Malone’s lighting design, with pre-law scenes set in a warm glow, switching to a harsh and icy white once the law has been imposed, helping audiences to keep track of the quick transitions. The bright LED lights work wonderfully well with Robert Jones’ beautifully designed yet minimalist set – a dark curved background, which features the couples’ belongings stacked high from floor to rafters, perhaps signalling the baggage that people bring from one relationship to the next.

Bernadette and Oliver most certainly have their emotional baggage, as both are shown to be deeply insecure. As a musician currently resigned to writing jingles, Oliver is perturbed by Bernadette’s higher paid career as a lawyer, whilst Bernadette feels threatened by Oliver’s former, but unseen, girlfriend Julie. These fractures exist in their relationship from the beginning, but are intensified by the introduction of the Hush Law. 

Coleman and Turner are endearing, with a particular highlight being their rendition of Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of The Heart’, or at least it is until Turner’s Oliver runs out of words. Both parties play characters that are believable, and likeable, however they also seem deeply incompatible from their very first meeting in the pet cemetery. It makes it difficult to root for their relationship to work. This, however, does mean that they play scenes of tension very well via excellent body language. As you might expect in a play based on word limits, silence often speak volumes, particularly in the early scenes when they can speak freely, but choose not to, or cheerfully agree to “talk about it later” when it comes to difficult subjects. However, as the play stretches on lot of their emotion is boiled down to tired resignation, as the word limit takes its toll. 

Whilst the story lingers primarily in romantic comedy territory, there are definite political undertones to Steiner’s script. Although written in 2015, the parallels to Brexit are undeniably palpable. The divergence between Oliver’s staunch activism, and Bernadette’s apolitical pragmatic stance feels familiar, as he tries everything to stop the incoming Hush Law, whilst she watches on, hoping that it will never come into fruition. 

Unfortunately, there are lots of questions left unanswered. For example, why is the Hush Law being introduced? How is it policed? What are the consequences of going over the word limit, if you even can? We suppose you could argue that these don’t matter, but it does make the concept feel disjointed, as though something is missing. Considering Oliver’s defiant personality, we do start to wonder why he doesn’t simply go over his word limit.

Nonetheless, the play raises interesting questions about the ways in which we communicate with each other, and the impact this has on our relationships. It makes the audience think about the importance of the words we use. How would we cope in a world with so few words? Or on the flip side, how often do we complicate matters by using too many words, concealing what we truly mean? As Steiner probably intended, we leave the theatre feeling hyper-aware of how many words we use in each sentence, and rethinking every key as we tap at our phone. 

So there you go, Besties, we won’t waste any more words in telling you that this show is definitely worth a watch!

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Kirstie Ewer

Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons plays at The Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End until 18 March. The production will then play Manchester Opera House from 21 -25 March, and Theatre Royal Brighton from 28 March – 1 April, with tickets available here.