romance – A Young(ish) Perspective

REVIEW: This Bitter Earth

Published on June 27, 2025June 27, 2025 by Mark LloydLeave a comment

A powerful, compelling romance exploring activism and identity, brilliantly acted and directed.

This Bitter Earth at the Soho Theatre, is written by Harrison David Rivers and offers a compelling and deeply human experience, skillfully weaving an imperfectly perfect romance with vital discussions on activism and the intersection of queerness and blackness. While it tackles a multitude of weighty themes, the heart of the play undeniably lies in the captivating love story between Jesse, played by the magnetic Omari Douglas, and Neil, brought to life by Alexander Lincoln.

The success of This Bitter Earth hinges on the audience’s belief in and rooting for this central couple, a task the two leads accomplish with remarkable ease. Their witty, natural dialogue is a constant highlight, and the chemistry between Douglas and Lincoln is simply undeniable. Small gestures and subtle touches throughout their interactions infuse their relationship with an incredible sense of realism, making them feel like a truly lived-in couple. Both actors deliver performances that showcase their talents at their absolute best, creating a dynamic and believable partnership.

Billy Porter’s direction is nothing short of excellent. The play moves at a brisk, engaging pace, with transitions between scenes executed seamlessly and intelligently. While a few moments involving the actors being in the audience didn’t quite land for me in terms of their purpose, this was a minor quibble that did not detract from the overall impact of the show.

The play courageously juggles a complex array of topics, from the importance of activism to the nuanced interplay of queerness and black identity within the American discourse on race. For the most part, it manages to integrate these themes effectively, grounding universal human experiences within a specifically American context.

My primary reservation, and the reason for the slightly less than perfect score, lies with the ending. Despite the powerful setup, the final moments didn’t quite deliver the emotional gut punch I anticipated. This was largely due to the narrative choice to explicitly reveal the outcome halfway through the show, which, for me, inadvertently lessened the emotional stakes of the climax. However, it’s clear this was a subjective experience, as the sniffles and hushed tears from several audience members during the final five minutes were a testament to the profound emotional impact it did have on others.

In conclusion, This Bitter Earth is a thought-provoking and beautifully performed piece that captivates with its central romance and challenges with its timely themes. Despite a slightly softened emotional landing for some, it’s a powerful and highly recommended theatrical experience.

This Bitter Earth is playing at Soho Theatre until 26th July.

REVIEW: Beautiful Thing

Published on September 25, 2023September 24, 2023 by dougiebannonLeave a comment

This fairy tale in 90s Thamesmead is a joyful celebration of queer romance

30 years ago, when Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing was first produced, it was described as an urban fairy tale which portrayed what it is to be young, gay and in love in the early 90s. Fast-forward to 2023 and this anniversary production, in a collaboration between Theatre Royal Stratford East, Leeds Playhouse and HOME Manchester, manages to capture the hearts of the audience and recreate the risk, nervousness and elation of a young gay relationship.

The story revolves around two teenage boys, Ste and Jamie – played wonderfully by Raphael Akuwudike and Rilwan Abiola Owokoniran respectively– who fall into romance after Ste stays over one night. Set against a backdrop of a Thamesmead estate in 1993, the production could very easily have become bogged down in larger social themes but it refreshingly – even 30 years later – avoids this in favour of placing a singular focus on the daily lives of these very relatable characters. Anthony Sampson-Pike’s pacey direction and tendency to lean into the humour of the play makes for a joyful ride while Rosie Elnile’s set and costume design, and Elliot Grigg’s lighting present us with a scene that, if it weren’t for the pebble-dashed walls and abandoned tricycles was oddly reminiscent of a Disney film.

That isn’t to say that this production ignores the more traumatic facets of the play. However, it was interesting to note that the still-very-recent Aids pandemic only had a couple of mentions, while the occurrence of domestic violence is presented as something so regular and widespread as it can be joked at. Whilst the focus of the play is, rightly, on the joy that finding love – especially while growing up gay – can bring, there would have been some value in seeing a greater emotional engagement with the very real troubles these young people face, so that the pay-off when they find each other might be all the sweeter.

Nevertheless, the second act seems to heighten the stakes and it’s here that the cast really shine. A distinctive highlight is Scarlett Rayner as Leah, hurt and vulnerable and tenacious and mischievous all at the same time, and Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge whose new-age swagger plumbs almost bottomless depths of hilarity. The scene when Jamie finally tells his mum Sandra, a magnetic Shvorne Marks, about himself was touching and enrapturing – you could have heard a pin drop. And when finally Mama Cass’ music – with sound design by the inestimable XANA – lifts us out of the production, and the dreamlike end visual bring everyone to their feet, there is a palpable sense of the value of stories that centre queer joy. Although this production could have gone deeper in exploring the risks of being gay in the latter part of the last century, the fact that it is such a crowd pleasing, joyful and engaging piece of theatre is incontrovertible – quite simply, it’s a great night out.

REVIEW: A Billion Times I Love You

Published on October 4, 2022October 3, 2022 by geegeevonbLeave a comment

A raw love story that shows obstacles are part of being in love- whether you say the big “I Love You” or not.

I absolutely loved this play from start to finish- from the abrupt beginning and simple set to its unique soundtrack and interpretive dance sex scene. This play supported by Homotopia, a Liverpool based LGBQIA arts festival tells a raw queer love story. A Billion Times I Love You is a beautiful depiction of a realistic relationship that takes into account an individual’s struggles and how they can strain a relationship. Ultimately these obstacles are part of being in love – whether you say the big “I Love You” or not.

The play started unceremoniously with no announcement, there wasn’t the usual dimming of chatter and music cut off before the actresses came on stage, they appeared suddenly and took us into their world. We start at what seems to be domestic bliss, two young women in love enjoying a bottle of wine and dancing – you guessed it, this doesn’t last long. Their troubles start with what seems to be a mundane disagreement between a long time couple – one wants to stay up and have one last dance and the other prioritises work and wants to sleep. This is just the beginning of this couple’s strife, as we go on a rollercoaster ride of relationship ups, downs, sideways and coverups.

Both actresses do an amazing job of portraying convoluted and complex emotions to the audience. That was my favourite thing about this play – the rawness of real emotions that go along with relationship dynamics and the portrayal of sometimes ugly emotions. These characters were relatable and I found myself siding with one and then the other throughout the play and sometimes both. Melissa Low’s performance of Taylor embodied a passionate damaged person who was trying to be their best for their partner, she was fiery and hot headed and angry but only because of her love for Jesse and her fear of being alone. She also brought comedic relief to this piece with her false bravado and quick come backs. Mary Higgins did a stellar performance of portraying a complicated character, Jesse was the cool to Taylor’s hot – she preached openness, progression and communication and this actually actively discouraged communication. We saw both change throughout the play to accommodate the other and love ultimately prevailed.

The use of the simplistic set was a great choice to better focus on the emotional issues at hand and not distract from the open dialog written by Patric Maguire. The set also blended nicely with the use of The Crawlers soundtrack used throughout the paly and the lighting changes. Changes in scenery and movement was all captured in this one tiny square using these mediums. One scene were all this came together nicely was the sex scene between the two leads, as it portrayed the emotion behind the scene of covering up issues with physical intimacy and how that works for a bit but will eventually wear off.

I would recommend that everybody goes to see this play, as it will give anyone food for thought and bonus you get to support Homotopia and Everyman who give plays like this a stage. It also is a bargain as along with the just under an hour long play – you get a half an hour set of The Crawlers afterward. The Crawlers are a Liverpool based band who did all the music for this production – who are extremely good. I am now looking at buying tickets for their Liverpool gig.

*A Billion Times I Love You is playing at Everyman Theatre, Liverpool until the 8^th October*