You just don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. No amount of curtain twitching can ever let on the secrets held within every suburban street. Random Accomplice’s Love Hurts by Johnny McKnight follows one housewife’s tale as she is pulled into the intoxicating world of her new neighbours.
Susan (Toni Frutin) is a housewife with a past which hints at darkness with a penchant for talking and gossip. As she leads us through her initial thoughts of new neighbours, Valerie and Nicholas, we learn that all is not what they seem. Their love hurts each other, and when Susan gets more involved with them she finds that her love hurts too.
With BDSM undertones, and tales of threesomes and swinging, this is definitely a tale of love fit for the 21st century. McKnight’s writing touches on dark themes, hitting on illicit love, murder through auto asphyxiationand mental illnesses. Yet there’s a gentle – and sometimes hilarious – humour throughout. Much of this can be attributed to Frutin’s excellent sense of comic timing, uncannily portraying the nosy neighbour turned by the glamour of the couple across the road.
Dave Shea and Alan Penman – responsible for Lighting and Sound design respectively – worked hard together to create the sense of multiple locations in such a bare and intimate space. At 50 minutes long, this one woman show is paced well, but a story with so many themes to explore could easily entertain a longer length and multiplied cast members. However, it’s a humorous look behind closed doors.
Love Hurts performs at the Tron until October 22, 2011.
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