Review: All my ex-lovers are dead, Pink Moon- Brighton Fringe

(Photo Credit: Megan O'Neill)

A cup of tea and a diary. Memories of pouring from an empty cup, time spent sitting with a strong brew. Drinking it all in. A reflection on love, desire and the rise and fall of relationships, mostly autobiographical. A person greeting their past selves saying ‘that is where you are now, but hey, this is where you’ll find yourself soon.’

This solo show, which has been developed through numerous writing programmes, made its first stage appearance in South Africa, where it has been touring across the country for the past few years. The current run at Brighton Fringe marks the show’s official international debut.

With next to no set, aside from a chair, this show really suits the intimate space of the upstairs room of Pink Moon. There is no distinct barrier between the performer and the audience, creating a sense of intimacy. A sense of comradery in sitting with a friend, in a coffee shop, whilst they tell you everything that’s on their mind. 

Greeted by Dara Beth (the playwright, director and performer), we are welcomed to embrace the space as it is, much as we are invited to embrace the performer in all of their clown costumed glory. 

The costume design in this sense is clever because they look so out of place in such an earthy room, which we later discover is part of the point of the show. A stripping back of performativity to see the raw person hiding beneath, through the removal of makeup. One of the most poignant moments in the show. 

Beth has an undeniable gift for grounded poetics and is a talented storyteller in their ability to unwrap the layers of language in front of you, maintaining a steady and safe pace to allow for a collective journey into the depths of the heart. Cold well balanced with warmth. 

Through the fearless telling of their past romantic experiences and in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, Beth explores ideas about the love we accept vs the love we think we deserve, vs the love we actually deserve. How sometimes what you envision and what you get are two very different things and how experiences leave invisible marks on us. Whilst some can be washed off, some can’t, so what do we hold onto? How do we let go?

“If I love myself more, how much less will people love me?”, is a quote from the show that I think hits right to the core of the piece. A show of romantic experiences to highlight both the discovery of the importance of self-love and the realisation that love is infinite and takes many, many different forms outside of romance. “I can say I love you an infinite number of times.” 

As a member of Gen Z, still yet to engage with a lot of this side of adult life, I can’t relate to a lot of it, but I still find this show to be very eye opening. A chance to be gently guided away from Disney-fied and chick-flick images, and prepared for some potential hard truths and moments of really beautiful, pure joy. 

This play is a dissected heart displayed on stage and carefully stitched back together with love.

****Four Stars

Age rating: Sixteen plus.

Content notes: Strong language, themes of a sexual nature, mentions of sex/descriptions of sexual acts, a mention of death, a mention of drunkenness and alcohol, a mention of cancer and bodily illness.

For more information and tickets to the current run at Brighton Fringe: https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/all-my-ex-lovers-are-dead/