Old Vic in Camera showed me the difference between viewing plays live online and viewing recorded streams; the former are more engaging, probably just because you know you’re watching as it happens. This one from Nottingham Playhouse has the addition of a live audience in the theatre, which was a bonus, adding atmosphere.
James Graham’s Rom Com revolves around a couple whose first date is just before lockdown. They are faced with the choice of putting the relationship on ice for the duration of it, or moving in together and forming a bubble, after only one date! Both options are played out in parallel, by split screens online (I’m not sure how in the theatre).
Though it is primarily the story of an unlikely relationship, there’s a fair bit of lockdown reality in there too, but it’s always light, never heavy. Jessica Raine plays teacher Morgan, who hosts the bubble option in her flat, her excitement making her seem more like a teenager. Pearl Mackie plays Ashley, a modern woman running a micro-pub, bubbling with enthusiasm. Both performances on a virtually empty stage carry the narrative well.
Given the depth, quality and detail of Graham’s other work, it did seem like a work-in-progress, but it was an engaging seventy minutes which worked well online.
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 
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