Within moments of the opening scene of Seating Plan, the audience cannot help but be lured into the mystical world of Mavis and David as they attend their friends Emma and Will’s birthday party. Izzy Radford, the show’s writer as well as leading lady, cleverly weaves together wit, love, and frustration to embody the perfect Fringe romcom that takes place over a series of years.
The story and dialogue flow with ease as both Radford and George Airey—who plays the stubborn and chaotic David—seamlessly exude chemistry. Even when the characters are constantly existing in two different spheres of life and missing each other, the romantic tension is palpable and truly gripping. This coupled with the witty dialogue detailing what it is like to be single in your twenties, infused with current pop culture references, generates an electric environment where you truly begin to root for Mavis and David, even when they do not root for themselves.
Additionally, the time jumps were handled particularly well as the actors performed quick changes on stage, and altered the staging with the backdrop of classic romcom hits such as ‘This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)’ by Natalie Cole. Through these uplifting tunes and the embracing of the outfit changes as part of the performance, the yearly time skips become one of the most anticipated parts of the show as both actors danced gleefully about the stage.
Seating Plan adopts tropes of the classic romcoms such as Sliding Doors and Nora Ephron’s timeless classic When Harry Met Sally. This is emphasised through soundbites from films played during the five-year time span where it appears that maybe everything will work out for Mavis and David, and that they will end up happily together forever. But alas, not all romcoms have the ending you anticipate…
Overall, this performance is an absolute must-see as it intertwines feelings of hope and hopelessness, humour and sadness, swooning and disgust completely impeccably. It is a fantastic modern romcom that will transport you directly into their fictional world, as you cannot help but yearn for the two to get together.
Seating Plan is running until 25 August at Nip at Gilded Balloon Patter House.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of Felix Cave, provided to The Student as press material