Robert Bathurst’s play Love, Loss and Chianti will make you laugh and cry
ROBERT Bathurst has an old English charm that could make even the dullest play compelling.
His adaptation of Christopher Reid's poems A Song of Lunch and The Scattering into Love, Loss & Chianti is anything but boring.
In the first half we see a man grieving for his wife, looking back to their holidays together and how she died.
It's incredibly emotive and made me feel like I could cry for Robert's loss.
The second act is centred around two former lovers meeting up after not having seen each other for years.
This two-man play stars Robert and Rebecca Johnson who switch between characters for each half.
He's known for Cold Feet but these emotional plays see him in a different light - he goes from grieving husband in one act, to flirtatious drunk in the second without missing a beat.
I couldn't take my eyes away from the stage the entire time.
The first half beautifully blends the past and present together to tell the tale of a man whose wife has died in a hospice.
With help from Rebecca the poetry comes alive, you can see their love for one another as they move around the stage and in the background cartoons play out to illustrate just what is going on.
One of the highlights of the play for me was Charles Peattie’s animations projected onto the back of the stage.
Robert does most of the speaking - and it's a feat given his is essentially doing a monologue for nearly two hours.
But he doesn't miss a beat. He moves seamlessly through the speeches, and is incredibly funny at times.
In the second act he portrays a slights lewd drunk with ease and even at times when you should be wincing at the leering - you can’t help but laugh.
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The black drawings help tell the tale of the play and set the scene of the musty Italian restaurant that is the setting of the second half.
It’s an incredibly neat way to minimise props and create a uniquely captivating backdrop that moves with the tale.
No wonder Robert said his life wouldn't be complete until he had performed the play.