Romantics Anonymous Review.

Romantics Anonymous

Streamed Live from the Bristol Old Vic

★★★★★

I‘m not going to lie when I say that I had huge expectations for theatre in 2020 and I know I’m not alone. 2020 has been a difficult year but I feel like Romantics Anonymous was the hug we have all craved for the past 6 months, and it felt bloody wonderful. We’re finally back in the warmth of the theatre, although the set up is very different from our more traditional trip to the theatre. The production is streamed live from the Bristol Old Vic and although we’re not physically in our seats in the auditorium, the magic of the theatre is present. As Emma Rice explains in the digital programme “hand in virtual hand with our audience we will feel once more the exhilaration of a collective experience; that sweet, delicious, much missed treat! joy upon joy, thrill upon thrill, hope upon hope… the show will go on!” and this production of Romantic Anonymous definitely makes the darkness bright.

Romantics Anonymous is a full scale musical presented for a live audience sitting in the safety of their home. This scrumptious love story centres around a shared passion for chocolate between two young people; Angelique and Jean-René. Angelique is an extremely gifted chocolate maker who is crippled by social anxiety, where as Jean-René is the manager of a declining chocolate factory. There is common parallels between these two, young people as their individual battles bring them together when Angelique gets a job at Jean-René’s factory. She helps them to turn their business around but also embarks on a fragile love affair journey with Jean-René.

This musical is based on the 2010 French movie Les Émotifs Anonymes but given a dusting from Emma Rice, known for pioneering theatrical reinventions loved by audiences over the last 20 years. This show oozes warmth and joy, but also there’s definitely some room for laughter in it’s comedic elements too. Rice really brings every single character involved in the story to life and with a huge impact that really draws you in as an audience member.

Carley Bawden and Marc Antolin are a triumph in their delivery as the main characters in our story. They were supported perfectly by the rest of the cast who really helped to navigate us through this journey with Angelique and Jean-René. To experience a cast of nine people singing and dancing together on an actual stage to the accompaniment of a small band for the musical score is groundbreaking for the times we’re in and brought me to tears within the first 5 minutes because live theatre, for now, was back in my reach.

Some of the music in this show gave me proper Amelie vibes and the setting was giving me Waitress vibes, I think Romantics Anonymous stands alone as an enjoyable performance for the masses. The music itself was pleasant but they were only a few in this show that stood out to me. I think a lot of the ethos in this show was on the actual story and I embraced every breath of it from start to finish.

Romantics Anonymous was the perfect recipe for why the show must go on.

You don’t have long left to experience it for yourself, you can watch it live until Sun 27 Sept. Find out more here.