Six Acts of Love

Six Acts of Love starts with a crisp conversation between three women of different generations.

They openly discuss such topics as ageing, longing, sexuality and marriage with such refreshing candour that one is instantly both intrigued and hooked. It is with great disappointment, then, that the play quickly tumbles into mediocrity, going from an interesting take on family issues into the embodiment of countless cliches.

Where does the fault lie? It's hard to judge when the creative talent involved, as solidly capable as they may be, are all adequate at best here.

Director Andy Arnold has created a reserved piece of theatre. It is well staged and allows the characters to breathe, but it isn't very inspired. If anything, it just feels a bit static.

The same can be said for the cast. Una McLean has the most difficult job of playing a character declining into dementia, and Barbara Wilshere and Clara Onyemere have a few glimmering moments throughout the piece as the daughter and the caretaker.

Des Braiden adds a bit of needed energy, even if it's a bit forced at times, and Benny Young does the best he can with a shallow, almost thankless role. For every moment the actors are allowed to shine, there are more moments where they are bogged down by the words and actions of the script.

Which brings us to playwright Ioanna Anderson. Anderson is quite obviously a talented writer; she's certainly one to watch out for in the future. Her play is full of great ideas and concepts. Unfortunately, ideas and concepts are not enough to sustain a solid piece of theatre, especially when these ideas are blanketed by constant ramblings and superficial plot development. The first act starts well but quickly disintegrates; the second act is much better but still suffers from plot choices that can best be described as convenient.

Six Acts of Love isn't a bad night at the theatre, but it should have been much better, especially when looking at the talent involved. As it stands, it's a fragmented piece that stumbles far more than one expects.