Review: Sweet & Sour
So, what are we talking about?
Sweet & Sour, a play about dating and friends, and all the pitfalls and possibilities that accompany them. Written and directed by Ursula McGinn, starring Kerill Kelly and Keira O’Flaherty, Sweet & Sour runs in the Players Theatre at 1pm every day until Saturday 31st Jan.
Righto, so should I bother going to see it?
Without a doubt! The combination of McGinn’s excellent writing and direction plus the cast’s winning performances make this one of the most fun shows I have seen in Players to date. Myself and the rest of the audience laughed again and again and again. From Kelly’s hilarious facial expressions to O’Flaherty’s perfectly executed phone conversations, every moment of the show was a joy to watch.
Tell me more, tell me more!
The set, which was a collaborative effort from the whole production team, led by head designer Annie Keegan, was awesome. The two sides of the stage, representing the bedrooms of the two characters, perfectly set up the measured contrast of the play. It immediately gave us a sense of the characters, and set up the idea that the characters’ lives mirror each other while, in many ways, they are exact opposites. The movement pieces and the dialogue flourished within this whole ‘mirroring’ idea, as both characters executed the same movements with their own individual stamp of personality thrown in.
But it’s €2! Can you just tell me the ending?
No! And anyway, the ending isn’t the important bit in this play. The charm and comedy is in the journey of the two characters through one drunken night, one resulting hungover morning, and one blind-date that could have gone better. We are taken through a story in which we can’t help but see a piece of ourselves, whether its in Jake and Alex’s dubious flirting skills, their stinking hangovers, their respective disorganisation and neatness, their phone calls with their friends, or their dating horror stories.
Dubious flirting skills? Disorganisation? Dating horror stories? Sounds quite familiar, doesn’t it Saoirse?
Sshhhhhhhhhh! …but yes, and that is what makes it so fun to watch.
Ok, I’ll head off and get a ticket so. Give me a final few words and win me over, and keep it short this time!
All too real and relatable hilarity!
