What on earth is post-post-structuralist anyway? It’s everything and nothing, apparently, and surprisingly enough makes for a gripping piece of theatre. Caryl Churchill’s Love And Information reflects the speed, the non-stop flow of information, the busyness, of our modern age not only in the carefully scripted scenes, but in its form, its design, its music.
It’s the form of Love And Information that’s most interesting: the play is separated into seven sections containing seven scenes, which can be played in any order. Additional scenes can be added. These vignettes comprise entirely unattributed dialogue – every production of Love And Information is able to decide for itself how many cast members are necessary, who is speaking, and what the character’s genders, ages, et cetera are. The vignettes are snappy and witty, they make you laugh, but they also can make you think, scenes of emotional power played beside scenes that instead seem to show us just how mundane our lives can be. This juxtaposition enables poignancy. It’s all in the title: it’s love, and information, and who we are, perfectly illustrated by an ensemble cast who’ve taken on more than 50 different roles.
Kip Williams’ production is articulated carefully – designer David Fleischer should be congratulated for the fluidity of the movement between scenes, the crafted choreography, the way his set gives shape to a text that could so easily become shapeless. The sound design from THE SWEATS also adds a sense of structure to the text.
