Andy Umerah and Sophie Craig in I Love You, Now What? at Park Theatre. Photo Lidia Crisafulli.Written by Sophie Craig who also takes the central female part of Ava in the play, we first encounter her as a jittery young woman on a night out, as she clicks with a handsome Aston Villa fan who manages to spill his tequila on her. After their night together, Theo — played with an affable winning charm by Andy Umerah —convinces Ava to linger for a coffee with him, which leads over the next few months to their developing a relationship and falling in love.
Meanwhile, as a backdrop, Ava is coming to terms with the onset of her father’s debilitating (and ultimately fatal) condition. Played by Ian Puleston-Davies (who also neatly transitions in and out of a second character John, a grief therapist) Dad is a stoic, flat-cap wearing northern man, who prefers silence to overt expressions of emotion - especially about the condition which he knows will soon rob him of his independence and strength.
On a simple playing area with just a mocked-up piano, (which doubles as a bed, sea-front, coffin, and a multitude of other inferred set states), Toby Clarke directs the trio as they journey through the ups and downs of coupledom and learn how to accommodate the overwhelming grief and anger which can result from losing a parent. Most particularly there is an acknowledgment of the imbalance in impact that such a loss can create in a relationship when a partner doesn’t know whether they are capable, or even the right person, to support the other through grief.
The early interactions are sensitive, joyously naive and intentionally playful between the young couple, whilst Puleston-Davies demonstrates a fine and studied approach to his gradual physical decline. Overall, there is perhaps a sense that the narrative lingered ten minutes longer than was absolutely necessary, but for a play delivered on a small, intimate scale, this was an impressive debut, affording all three actors excellent opportunities to shine.
