Ae Fond Kiss is a play about the extraordinary within the mundane. It begins with Lola, a plump prostitute, plodding around her poky flat in her dressing gown, making tea.

As she settles down to watch Eastenders, there is a knock at the door, and in comes a potential customer in the form of Zed, a foolish and uncertain young man who works at the local supermarket.

And so writer Ann Marie di Mambro contrives to introduce two troubled individuals, who through a sharing of histories and heartaches, offer objectivity into the each-other's lives, leading to a saccharine happy ending.

The first half of Ae Fond Kiss is cohesive and strong; the bumbling awkward interactions between Lola and Zed are magnificently woven by Libby McArthur (for whom the part was created) and Jim Webster-Stewart. The pair have a wonderful sense of shared timing and squeeze comedy from each moment of their ludicrous set-up, supported by Ken Alexander's slapstick direction. However the naïve take on a prostitute and her virgin customer that has such comic effect in the first portion of the play, becomes grating and worthy in the second half.

In Ae Fond Kiss, Ann Marie di Mambro serves up a Disneyfied vision of the world, in which a woman who is forced to sell her body is still willing to chat to a boy about his first kiss, and who turns away his money as he leaves.

Furthermore, the back stories of the characters are recounted in a very heavy-handed manner. They need little or no stimulus before they chronicle the conveniently detailed memories that serve as the crux of their story.

Due to this the plot feels worn and predictable, and the play itself seems dated, harking back to an '80s kitchen-sink drama where hardship is overvalued and idealistic.

Especially twee are the good-girl versus bad-girl ruminations of Lola. This character is underwritten in parts, and possesses none of the shrewd cognisance one would expect from a 40-year-old woman. The wisdom she offers Zed could be lifted from any daytime soap.

The production is saved by the charming acting performances. Libby McArthur is bubbly and commanding as Lola and radiates with emotion, which fills the auditorium. Jim Webster-Stewart as Zed sometimes struggles with the nervous stutter his character requires, but is adorably intense within his adolescent desires about girls and friends, capably making Zed's struggles authentic.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Libby McArthur - Lola. Jim Webster-Stewart - Zed.

Company Credits: Writer - Ann Marie di Mambro. Director - Ken Alexander. Set design - Jess Brettle. Lighting - Karen Bryce. Producer - Paul Bassett. Company - Oran MorE! at Assembly.

END

(c) Sara Pascoe 2007

reviewed August 07 / Assembly Rooms

Subeditor - Bo Wilson

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008