Love and Other Acts of Violence (PREVIEW), Donmar Warehouse, ★★

Previews can be precarious and problematic. They can also be absolutely perfect, as the production settles down, ready for the official opening night. Some producers and performing houses hate critics reviewing previews, as the production is still trying to find-its-feet, and may yet be subject to changes. But I also believe, that if a production is selling tickets, however cheap they may be, they cannot stop any paying person from sharing their views. The only condition clearly being, that they mention it actually still was in preview, and not the final post press-night production.

Love and Other Acts of Violence was on its second preview at the newly reopened Donmar Warehouse. It’s a very brave choice to reopen with a new play by an inexperienced young Cordelia Lynn. 

The very fragmented first act was a difficult watch, for a number of reasons. Not only was it a detailed chronology of the intense relationship between Jewish physicist (Abigail Weinstock) and her activist Polish partner (Tom Mothersdale), it was also, as the play’s title conveys, a mix of love and acts of violence. But, sadly for me, it felt like I was still in the rehearsal room. The 90 minutes was presented on a bare wooden stage, surrounded by gravel and mud, with the short scenes interrupted by post-it styled thoughts or quotations, dotted in the dirt. I struggled to make sense of it all.

I yearned for an interval, and to be honest, doubted if I'd return. But I was also confused about the other actor named on the poster, Richard Katz. Was this going to be a production of two contrasting halves? Was there an unexpected twist about to drop from the darkness, and restore my faith in the Donmar’s reputation for new and challenging productions?

Without revealing too much, a much-needed change was delivered, which conveniently explained many of the oddities of the rather mundane first act. It wasn’t a wholly unexpected twist, as the seeds had been sown into the dark earth, which surrounded Basia Bińkowska's rather bland stage design. 

Mothersdale and Weinstock literally acted their socks off, moving and fighting their way bare-footed between the grit and gravel, and the wooden floor. The intense passion between these two troubled characters worked well, but then their darkest subconscious secrets, past lives and family inheritance crept in, bringing with it the conflict and confrontation. 

There is no doubting the relevance of the material being discussed between the two characters, which I’d argue was the main reason for choosing to re-open with this problematic play. But the fragmented rehearsal-room format never truly gave me a chance to get my much needed teeth into the material, or to release any true theatrical flavour, to take away with me. It was like flicking through the news channels, picking the rare bits of raw meat off the thin bones. 

The second act did manage to collect and collate some of those bones, but the production felt like it had escaped the intensity of the rehearsal room into an amateur dramatics presentation, with its tinned Heinz soup and equally tinny portrayals. 

Bińkowska's production design was saved by a more dramatic and much-welcomed change in the second act, but I’m afraid my concentration, patience and loyalty to Elayce Ismail's 120 minute presentation was battered, and remained lost like the quotes in the darkness of the dirt. 

Not the best reopening for the Donmar; a definite case of relevance over substance, fragmentation over firmness, and sadly, not much love or credible violence to justify leaving the rehearsal room.

Love and Other Acts of Violence (PREVIEW), Donmar Warehouse, ★★