FOOL FOR LOVE

* Written by Sam Shepard
* Directed by Lindsay Posner

Apollo Theatre –

***

By Julian Sudre


BURSTING with contradictions, passion and unframed perspective of the actual self, Shepard’s vision of love through the eyes of Eddie and May – Martin Henderson and Juliette Lewis -- divulges the most elusive form of acceptance of a couple that flirt with jealousy and incredible self-delusion.

Masculinity, heavy drinking and a confused relationship with women lead Eddie to be all at sea with reality and the ethics of a healthy bond with his lover, May.
On the other end of the spectrum, May retains the characteristics of a stubborn, yet unstable stance over what she really wants, as her love to Eddie is laced with painful, perhaps irretrievable shards of tumultuous past.

Set on the edge of the Mojave Desert in a shabby motel, where May has been living there for some time now; Eddie barges on to the stage by instigating an emotional jab of obsession and particularly selfish, although destructive at times, romantic narrative.

On a psychological level, one can identify the subtle dysfunctional raison d’etre, that Eddie reflects all the while, by the determined line of reasoning of his own self.
The latter is, by all means, enlightened, when May, refuses to go with him, on the principal that his two-timing with the Countess is not the done thing.

Incompatibility deliberately belies their passionate obsession for each other, which in turn, sparks violence and tragicomic conflicts at the best of times.

But, what is interesting is the disparity of vantage points when it comes to understanding the perspective of each other’s characters. The old man onstage – although only seen through their imagination – turns out to be the dad and unfolds the darkest corners of their childhood.

Juliette Lewis West End debut alongside rising star Martin Henderson gripped us with the typical West Coast romance but would lack at times the depth of a more pungent dialogue.