Preview: Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons
Sam Steiner’s dynamic and poignant ‘Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons’ runs at The Corpus Playroom from 11th-15th October, 2022
A timely and powerful exploration of freedom of speech, the meaning of expression and value of relationships, Sam Steiner’s ‘Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons’ is set to draw audiences in under the guise of a zany and intimate rom-com, with increasingly poignant conversations simmering under the surface, where the words left unsaid are just as important as those able to be voiced.
The team behind the adaptation for the Corpus Playroom share a little of what’s to come:
This fast-paced, poignant, two-person play – written by Steiner while he was still a student at the University of Warwick – focusses on a tumultuous relationship in a society that puts restrictions on speech.
Bernadette – a practical divorce lawyer – and Oliver – a free-spirited musician – navigate day-to-day relationship hurdles in a changing world, where love, cat cemeteries, and the nuances of language are all bound up in the struggle for expression.
Dynamic, quirky, and adapted to the intimate setting of the Corpus Playroom, Lemons has been an exciting venture for directors Mercy Brewer and Ioana Dobre.
When discussing the process of putting together the show, Mercy says that “We’ve gone on a really experimental and holistic journey over these last few months, hugely thanks to my co-director Ioana who has brought such grace, vulnerability and patience to the process. We’d both never done this before, and it’s a great honour to venture on this process for the first time with her.”
With a cast that have been able to bring real energy to the characters (Kasia Truscott plays Bernadette and Ben Mulley plays Oliver), a dedicated crew encompassing all levels of experience with productions, and a venue right at the heart of theatre in Cambridge, this staging offers a fresh take on a play that explores the various ways people try to express themselves – especially when words just aren’t enough.
Ioana sums it up perfectly: “from Twitter word limits, 40-minute mid-scene Zoom cut-offs, to time running out, general rules, [and] what we want to say, choose to say, or can’t say, I hope this play will inspire us to think a little bit deeper about the words we use.”
As you can see, the catharsis of discussion, creative or otherwise, seems a common theme both in the team behind the production, and in the tales set to be told upon the Corpus stage. I expect it will not just be those within the provocative world of the performance that will be lost for words.
‘Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons’ runs at The Corpus Playroom from 11-15th October
Tickets available here
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