Caryl Churchill’s Love And Information comprises short snippets of life, often ordinary pieces of dialogue you’ve likely said or heard somewhere before, that in and of themselves could tell a whole story — regardless of the fact the shortest scenes literally last four seconds — such is the way they’re presented. Eight brilliant actors play hundreds of characters that cover a large spectrum of emotion and the human experience — wading through what it means to love and connect in a modern world. The stage is set like a canvas, all white, with large white blocks that the actors move around, forming different shapes. The actors run around between scenes, taking their place and setting up and removing props, adding to the rush of it all, each scenario flicking to the next smoothly yet abruptly. The lighting adds colour and texture to the stage, and The Sweats comes through yet again with a flawlessly sharp and emotive soundtrack. All of it transforms the series of mostly mundane events into a thrilling ride.
Churchill divided the play in seven sections, each containing seven scenes (that can be run in any order), except the last which has eight; there are also extra scenes the director can choose to use or leave, none of the dialogue is allocated to any character, and no scenes are set — allowing director Kip Williams to interpret and connect them as he wished. In turn, we, as the audience, do the same, and the information and emotion continues to be transferred. Everything fits together like a puzzle that has no end.
