London
DIRTY GREAT LOVE STORY
by Richard Marsh and Katie Bonna.
4 Stars ****

The Arts Theatre, 6-7 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JB to 18 March 2017.
Mon – Sat 7.30pm. Mat Thur & Sat 2.30pm.
Runs 80 mins No interval.

TICKETS: 020 7836 8463.
www.artstheatrewestend.co.uk
Review: William Russell 25 January.

Unmissable, hilarious tale of a couple of losers in love
Written in rhyming couplets, more or less, this is a very funny account of what happens after Richard ( a suitably nerdish but good looking Felix Scott) and Katie (a bubbly Ayesha Antoine) get drunk when the hen night she is on and the stag do he is at end up in the same pub.

The inevitable morning after – he is a not very successful male on the pull while she is on the rebound having been ditched – comes as quite a surprise to them. They tell their respective stories, which run a fairly predictable, but charming course as they fail to make a go of it. They find other partners, fall out, make up, attend raves and generally make a mess of life. Until they both see sense.

The play, originally performed by its writers, has enjoyed success all over the place. The new performers for this West End run – Scott and Antoine – fit their roles perfectly, straight away establish a rapport with the audience. The jokes are good, sometimes deliciously filthy, and the verse carries it all along splendidly, adding just that extra something to a story line which is not all that original.

The press night audience, full of under thirty somethings, reacted to it all with delight. This was their lives. Dirty Great Love Story, half play, half stand up and none the worse for that, is also nicely filthy and about love as the title promises. What you get is what it says on the can.

Richard: Felix Scott.
Katie: Ayesha Antoine.

Director: Pia Furtado.
Designer: Camilla Clarke.
Lighing Designer: Mark Howland.
Sound Designer & Composer: Richard Hammarton.

2017-01-27 16:40:48