THEATRE: LOVE ME TENDER

Pure love and sacrifice; two very rich and compelling ideas brought to life in Tom Holloway’s Love Me Tender, directed by Matt Lutton. Inspired by Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis, and set in a generic Australian backyard, a story of the fears, expectations and extremities between a man and his daughter delicately unfolds. Tension was a flowing constant in this play. The feeling of inevitable collapse, which emanated from the opening moment to those powerful last lines, was what made this production a wonderfully emotive piece of theatre. In the simple, it was diverse. From unequivocal highs to temperamental lows, Love Me Tender was raw, unpredictable, tender and an accurate stab at the fragile, vulnerable and almost animalistic state of the human condition. And let’s not forget sacrifice, which is what this whole play was about. I mean, would you kill the one you love the most to save your community? It’s beautifully confronting, with many compliments to the claustrophobic set and riveting performances of Colin Moody (Father) and Belinda McClory (Mother). Love Me Tender is a rare, relevant and intelligently written play, driven by its beautiful inconsistencies and potent themes. With an untainted truth in what was said and heard, I found it beyond doubt a very riveting production, where we learn that yes, we live surrounded by chaos.

Mar 18-Apr 11, Belvoir Theatre Upstairs, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills, $35-57, 9699 3444, belvoir.com.au

BY BRIANNA LA RANCE