Revu Pillow Talk
“Pillow Talk” Poster
I don’t believe there are any new love stories to tell. I wouldn’t say I’m cynical when it comes to these stories, but if you are an avid consumer of film, television and theatre, you feel like you’ve seen them all. The joy of Pillowtalk is that it goes beyond what’s commonplace, beyond the happily-ever-after, to something so real it’s daunting.
Ben (Gruff Williams) and Rachel (Nina Fidderman) have been together for roughly 8 years. In that time, they’ve watched each other grow and develop into the people they are today. After teasing each other while nursing a hangover, they had a candid conversation about their future together, including starting a family. Ben reveals that he found out many years ago that he was infertile, which shocks Rachel. She has had many pregnancy scares, but each resulted in negative tests, leaving her to believe her body was the problem. They come to an understanding and eventually end up adopting two children. In between child care and their work, they’re struggling to plan a wedding and a honeymoon. Straight after the wedding ceremony, they realise they don’t actually want to be together forever and end their relationship on amicable terms.
“Pillow Talk”
Though the staging was simple, it was to the benefit of the production. A simple but lived-in space, also met with uncomplicated lighting and sound, leaves you entrapped by the drama and hunger for honesty.
The balance of silly, familiar banter, letting the audience in on their most embarrassing and silly jokes, with such raw sincerity, is what makes this production so powerful. This is immediately encapsulated by the opening, a recording of Kyle "Guante" Tran Myhre reading his poem Love in the Time of Undeath, followed by the couple having a dance party to Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Staton.
The performances start slowly, but both Williams and Fidderman build themselves up moment by moment. From ambitious young people starting life to exhausted parents just trying to survive it. Director/Writer Rufaro Museva-Sauti has crafted moments and dialogue that demonstrate the ineffable ache associated with holding in secrets and slowly falling out of love. I especially admired the moments of pure, sincere love professed by Williams, met with such stillness and shock from Fidderman. This is what blew me away: the eloquent portrayal of the struggle between wanting to live life and actually having to deal with what life gives you.
Pillow Talk is truly a special production. I believe if the run time was cut down to a tight hour, it would smooth out any of the bumpier moments that may cause the flow of the narrative to stall. Specifically around the middle, the dialogue and performances start to feel mildly repetitive.
Overall, a phenomenal start to what I’m sure will be a great body of work from Cwtch Productions. I left both heartbroken but smiling. I would strongly recommend.
“Pillow Talk”
4/5 Stars
“Pillow Talk”
Review by Rio Rose Joubert
