Love Quirks, The Other Palace Review
Written by Emily K-N for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
This production contains haze.
Having enjoyed runs off-Broadway, the new musical Love Quirks makes its London debut at The Other Palace. Flatmates Chris (Tom Newland), Stephanie (Clodagh Greene), Ryan (Lewis Bear Brown), and Lili (Ayesha Patel) are navigating adult life, friendships, and love. Their lives overlap, as becomes clear as the story is told, resulting in an entertaining, heartwarming couple of hours.
From the start, it becomes clear that each character is going through some sort of heartbreak, which forms the backbone of the story. Stephanie is going through a divorce and is working through some difficult feelings in relation to this. Chris is going through a breakup after finding out his fiancée was cheating on him. Ryan and Lili have a romantic history and are both trying to move on with their lives in their own ways.
Songs by composer and lyricist Seth Bisen-Hersh are catchy and serve as a valuable way for us to learn more about the characters and their hardships and mishaps. Whilst they aren’t all memorable, there are definitely some stand out numbers. ‘Darling I Loved You/Who Knows Why?’, a ballad performed by Stephanie and Lili, is particularly powerful and beautifully executed by the two performers. Equally as powerful is the song ‘Waking’, which is performed at the start of Act 2. In it, Stephanie reminisces about her failed marriage and how she has lost who she used to be over the years she was with her ex-husband. Clodagh Greene delivers an emotive, captivating performance here and we really feel for her character.
As well as ballads, there’s a fair amount of songs that add comedic value, particularly from Lewis Bear Brown as Ryan and Ayesha Patel as Lili. Both actors are the source of much of the laugh out loud moments in the show and are fun to watch.
Costumes by Alice McNicholas are colourful and bright and definitely stand out in the small studio theatre space. Bob Sterrett’s set design ensures the space is utilised as well as it can be, and lighting by Oliver McNally is also effective.
Love Quirks is, at times, full on cheesy, but nonetheless enjoyable and upbeat. It could do with a little more character development throughout, but the performers are accomplished actors and strong singers, which means this isn’t a huge issue in the grand scheme of the production.
Love Quirks plays at The Other Palace Studio on the 12 October
★★★
