imaginative storytelling through rom-com tropes
“Romance on Repeat” is a New Celts and Backyard Alchemy production, comprising acting and directing students from Edinburgh Napier’s MFA programmes. These shows are always worth seeking out in a packed Fringe programme, and this one is no exception.
Directed by Jessie Syme, we follow Lizzie (superbly played by Brikaih Floré) trying to escape her real life issues and finding herself transported into her TV, starring in her very own sanitised rom-com. In themes for anyone familiar with the Hallmark holiday films, time after time, she finds herself reconciling with her childhood friend (an engaging Desirée Hoeksma), breaking up with her hotshot city-slicker boyfriend (Nick Willcocks, playing the straight guy very well) and reuniting with the childhood sweetheart/local hunk (Daniel Medina-Lopez, who was always on-hand with comedic relief), leading to her trying to escape back to real life, and the harsh reality awaiting her.
For those that are rom-com fans, there are some lovely nods to the genre, but the excoriating lens of the production, particularly in the latter half will have appeal beyond this audience. There’s dashes of some gorgeous physical comedy (watch out for a slo-mo moment early on, and some entertaining set changes), and a fantastic soundtrack. Unfortunately, on this night, the sound levels weren’t optimal – with background soundscape being too high or too low, but this should work itself out as the show progresses over the run. Similarly, the play was running over time on this night, and I felt the final climatic scenes felt rushed in comparison to the leisurely pace of the earlier scenes. It would be great to see it as a longer show (say 90 mins) to give all the elements their due presence.
With a clever script leaning just the right side of satire, but still displaying a genuine love of the genre, this is a show well worth seeing, and a team of creatives to watch for the future.
“Romance on Repeat” runs from 03 August to 24 August (odd dates only) at 13:50, at Space 3 @ TheSpace on the Mile. Tickets from: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/romance-on-repeat
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