The venue was The Vaults in London, which consists of a series of performance and arts spaces in converted railways arches underneath Waterloo station. Almost immediately next door is a graffiti tunnel, a space that has clearly been willingly allocated to artists, which was absolutely buzzing with activity when I walked by – it is a side of London that I rarely get chance to see.
“The New Romantic” was part of VAULT Festival 2019 and took place in the Cavern Room – directly inside one of the railway arches it is a long room with a series of wooden benches that housed the audience. Whilst not being the most comfortable seating, it was able to accommodate what appeared to be a full house or very close.
The play is centred on the topic of polyamory – the practice of an intimate relationship that involves more than one partner, with the full consent of all partners involved. People who identify as polyamorous believe in an open relationship with a conscious management of jealousy and they reject the view that sexual and relational exclusivity are necessary for deep, committed, long term loving relationships.
Without wanting to give away too much about “The New Romantic” I feel I need to mention the stage as we arrived into the theatre. It was a simple set-up with some chairs on either side, a sofa, some further chairs and a small table and most notably a naked man playing a double bass accompanying a stripped back piano version of “Do You Think I’m Sexy”, the Rod Stewart song. Even more bizarre was the fact that his mouth had been gaffer-taped.
In the opening scene we met the main two characters of the play Antonia (Milli Proust) and Erin (Eleanor Henderson) – they were in a hospital waiting room and both hysterical about the state of Bruno who was in surgery after an allergic reaction to coconut. Soon after we were thrown into a period of time several months earlier when Antonia and Erin first met in a nightclub. This was the start of their relationship which soon afterwards also involved Bruno (Edward Davis). Antonia kissed Erin after an evening of drinking wine and instead of breaking up with Bruno as she had planned, she suggested a threesome – something both Bruno and Erin were very happy to go along with.
As time passes by it is very clear that Erin and Bruno are just as close as Antonia and Bruno and without realising it they are now in a polyamorous relationship. Only one night changes everything and they are suddenly left in a situation where they question both themselves and the relationships between all three people.
“The New Romantic” covers a topic that is rarely shown in the mainstream media and for doing that it has to be applauded. The storyline is a simple one and perhaps a little predictable but what stands out about this play more than anything is the powerful performances of both Milli Proust and Eleanor Henderson – they delivered some real drama into what would perhaps have otherwise been entertaining but not spectacular. This play is a dark comedy and it is not without its moments of laughter but the underlying story is one of the relationship between Antonia and Erin which they made so believable and so real. Both already have many credits to their names but I certainly hope to see them with leading roles in much bigger productions in the future.
Reviewer - John Fish
on - 27/2/19
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