Review: STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY, Soho Theatre

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

‘Strategic’: defined as the identification of long-term goals and the means of achieving them. For Adam (Archie Backhouse) and Jenny (Letty Thomas), love is the aim, keenly motivated by their desire to escape the rollercoaster that is contemporary dating and to stop their loved-up friends from worrying about them. The two have met on an app and it is clear that they would not have, without modern technology. Jenny is bolshy, questioning and uncomfortable. Adam is closed off and being a bore. He tries to leave within the first ten minutes, but something makes him stay and as one pint becomes three, the date takes an unlikely turn.

Written by Miriam Battye, Strategic Love Play manages to perfectly capture the trials and tribulations of modern dating culture. Whilst sitting in the Soho Theatre, one could imagine that hundreds of dates of the same vein were taking place in the vicinity. The material is incredibly clever and witty, and keeps you on your toes. Directed by Katie Posner, the dating case study has been condensed into a speedy 70-minutes of theatre. However, the pacing is brilliantly reflective as the date and connection between Adam and Jenny ebbs and flows. The procurement of pints and a rotating set, designed by Rhys Jarman, punctuate the action. Paired with lighting and sound by Rajiv Pattani and Beth Duke respectively, the brief moments of respite help to chart the characters developing feelings towards one another, both positive and negative. These feelings are revealed through the plot device of voice notes, an excellent vehicle to reveal the characters’ inner thoughts and provide ample opportunity for comedy, demonstrated by the classic opener “I’m voice noting cos, you know, it’s quicker than texting”.

In any two hander, the pressure is on for the chemistry to be on point but unlike their characters, Letty Thomas and Archie Backhouse have no problems in this department. They are both incredibly funny, but their emotionally nuanced performances also show that stories of human connection never run smoothly. Their characters’ desperation is palpable as awkward tension grows into brilliant banter. Letty Thomas is charmingly chaotic, so eager to escape the horrors of the dating world and pressures of modern society. Her frankness and intrusive questioning disguise her deep desire to be loved and accepted. The pair wonderfully contrast as Jenny’s forwardness, in the interest of saving time, clashes with Adam’s reserved nature and fear of opening up. Archie Backhouse is sensitive and endearing especially when performing his crisp packet magic trick. Ultimately it is the shared goal of love that motivates the twists and turns, and cements the connection between the characters that is central to the success of the play.

Battye’s play is certainly a conversation starter as the show ends abruptly and inconclusively, and the audience are left with a multitude of questions. Perhaps she has simply reflected the reality of dating, in that you can never know what someone is truly thinking. Sometimes, however dissatisfying, you will get ghosted and never obtain the answers you desire. Despite this, Strategic Love Play is an achingly relatable and funny dissection of modern dating culture.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Sophie Luck

Strategic Love Play runs at Soho Theatre until 15 June, with further info here.