LOVE, SEX AND POETRY
Thoroughly delightful and hilarious throughout, Dirty Great Love Story, which is part of the Brits Off Broadway festival at 59E59 Theaters, is just what its admittedly clunky title implies. Richard Marsh and Katie Bonna, who together wrote, rhymed and perform the show under Pia Furtado’s direction, come out onto the stage, greet the audience – explaining that in England a “hen do†is a bachelorette party and a 
“stag do†is the male equivalent – and proceed to tell us the story of Richard and Katie. The two meet one night drunk at a club – she part of a hen do, he a stag do – shag, then spend the next two years trying to get together, or not get together, depending on how one looks at it. Perfectly fitted for an intimate performance space, the spectacle has the intended feel of two friends telling you a tale, acting out the parts of all the different characters. But while the goal seems to be to create a casual, inclusive atmosphere, there is nothing casual about the work, abilities and talent on display: Most of the script is in verse, which made me cringe initially – as if I was watching a drunk tightrope walker performing without a net – but with every moment confidence in the performance grew and very quickly my anxiety abated and I found myself simply enjoying the show. There is much rich, lively language to excite the ear and the dramatics of the script are chiseled to perfection. As performers Mr. Marsh and Ms. Bonna are disarming and utterly charming; their chemistry sparkles and their acting abilities are first-rate.
photos by Carol Rosegg
Dirty Great Love Story
Polly Ingham & Tim Johanson Productions
with Theatre Royal Bury St. Edmunds
Brits Off Broadway
59E59 Theaters
scheduled to end on June 30, 2013
for tickets, call 212.753.5959 or visit http://www.59e59.org/