REVIEW | Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons

★★★

Reviewer - Bronagh

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Imagine a world where a ‘Hush Law’ is introduced, where you can only speak 140 words per day. Where you have to think very hard about what you say, and whether you really mean it. Where you need to read between the lines more than you previously had to. Sam Steiner’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons follows Oliver and Bernadette who, bound by the Quietude Bill, face this exact challenge. As a songwriter and a lawyer respectively, the introduction of this Draconian law is extremely testing, both in their day to day professional lives and in their relationship. 

Lemons has been compared to Nick Payne’s Constellations; a two person show using a nonlinear narrative. At first, this is slightly confusing, with the couple saying random numbers to one another. As the play progresses, through a series of short scenes, it becomes apparent that these numbers are not random, but how many words they have remaining of their daily allowance. It all starts to piece together, and the reality of having a word count sinks in. The pressures of having to ration their words become apparent; we feel frustration at Parliament being exempt from the Bill (which is awfully familiar) and almost bemusement at far too many words being used on an elaborate smoothie order. 

Aidan Turner and Jenna Coleman clearly have great chemistry, and Lemons is 85 minutes of high energy engagement between the pair. However, the relationship that they are portraying, for the most part, is tense. We don’t particularly get the opportunity to enjoy their relationship, despite the play spanning seven years. Oliver sneers at Bernadette’s profession as a divorce lawyer, while Bernadette focuses on Oliver’s past relationship with the unseen Julie, oddly keen to find out why they split up. This isn’t to say there isn’t the odd lovely moment; my personal favourite was towards the end when they sang to one another, a nod to earlier in the play where Bernadette confesses that she used to think songs didn’t have words. 

The premise of Lemons is, overall, clever and intriguing. However, it is hard to ignore some of the plot holes. Why is the Quietude Bill being introduced and how will it be policed? Why would you use your daily word allowance instead of, perhaps, using gestures or pointing? Or getting the salt yourself instead of asking somebody twice to pass it to you? Surely you could use your fingers to show how many words you have left to use instead of saying the figure aloud? These are niggles that I had while watching the show, and I couldn’t shake them off. This is one to leave all logical thoughts in the foyer.

Rom-com meets dystopia, Lemons is a charming and well-acted performance, but perhaps a little bitter.

Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons is performing at Harold Pinter Theatre until 18 March before heading to Manchester and Brighton. Ticket information is available here.