This show is like watching a cool dialogue between a couple that easily could be you and your significant other. There are only two characters in the whole play, a girl and a guy in a relationship. The whole play is in one scene, their apartment, and there is very limited use of props. In fact, the actors themselves did all the scene setting themselves. I enjoyed this because it made two aspects of the play super important, the dialogue and the relationship between the two characters. These were all the substance the play had, so if the dialogue wasn’t clever and well-written, and the relationship between the guy and girl was poorly acted, the play would have been miserable to watch, which it wasn’t. Sometimes cool props and extras running around just make for a pleasant distraction from the intense moments of the play. This play felt intense and that was because the actors did a phenomenal job.
I enjoyed that the male part was loaded with poetic and deep lines. He also had an amazing voice that sounded so genuine when he spoke. After many of his romantic lines I would anticipate the couple to kiss, only to see an intense look and then another question asked. Finally, the kiss did happen after he said the most important lines for the first time “I love you” ironically after a story about puking. My favorite dialogue during the play was when they were talking about how ” oh uh ya” is more like a no than a yes. This part was funny and made me realize concretely “oh uh ya is not yes”, “yes is yes”. The actor did an awesome job of acting when he was talking about his previous assault as a child. All of a sudden he felt very vulnerable and insecure from the way he held his leg and gave quick one word replies.
I enjoyed relating to this play as I am sure anyone who has ever gone through a relationship or breakup has. The line that really stuck with me was when the guy asked “Do I hurt you more often than I make you happy?” because this is a question I always contemplate when I am dating someone. The female role also reminded me of how I feel my significant others talked. I could tell that the play was co-written by a girl and a guy because the feminine and masculine roles were defined really well. Throughout the play the girl and guy had different ways of presenting information and used different nuanced language that really felt authentic.
The couple was portrayed to be a few years out of college working adults, but the vibe I got was definitely an immature college relationship vibe. The way they joked around with each other and how they would talk at times made me think I was watching a college relationship. However, the actors both being college students definitely biased my opinion. For the final vodka shot that was taken, the acting was good, but I was confused about why it was drunk. I felt that it was less clear and had less build up than the previous five shots. Unless this was intentional, I think there needed to be more dramatic substance leading to the final shot and more suspense about whether it will be drunk or not. It kind of felt out of the blue and sudden, which took away a lot of potential suspense.
It was interesting how insignificant the play made the fact that the couple shared different religious values. The boyfriend even said he doesn’t believe she will go to heaven because she isn’t Christian. I was expecting this to escalate, but not only did they not take a shot over religion, they didn’t even seem to have any friction over the topic, it just led to some playful joking around. I guess in modern times shared religious values is becoming less and less significant in relationships, and the writers realize that.
The play was very good and well-written, especially for college students. The dialogue was clever, relatable, and realistic. However, a dialogue is really what the play was, there wasn’t much plot or character development or creativity in this sense. In the end, I enjoyed watching it, but it isn’t a play I would want to watch a second time.
