Review: REASONS YOU SHOULD(N'T) LOVE ME, Kiln Theatre

Amy Trigg performs in her own award-winning debut play at the Kiln Theatre. Winner of the inaugural Women's Playwriting Prize from Paines Plough and Ellie Keel Productions, the play is a joyous and poignant look at a woman's experience of spina bifida. Directed by Paines Plough co-artistic director Charlotte Bennett, the piece is a laugh from start to finish - whilst still at the same time containing moments of real emotional impact.

We meet Juno, a buzzy girl full of quips and one-liners who tells us about life to date. It's been a mixture of love, lust, heartbreak, embarrassment and pain - one big old adventure, basically. We hear of friends, lovers, aggressors and various rocks in life - namely, parents. Each character is introduced through a story or two, and each aside does the job in contributing to an overall clear picture. Trigg is fantastic with these multiple personalities, as she adapts different postures, positions and accents to get her point across.

As she moves about the stage transporting us to different time zones and locations, we learn that life is complicated, messy, but thrilling, too. Trigg has a enthusiasm to her performance which is so contagious. She has the audience on her side from the first moment - it really is a beautiful thing to see someone so calm, collected and friendly. You lean in and latch onto every word. Some of the script is a tad clunky and feels like it could do with cutting, but you forgive this and give into the narrative.

Above all else, we are invited into a world that uncommon to most and given a detailed and nuanced picture that allows our perceptions to be challenged and our opinions changed. We experience laughter and excitement through Trigg's performance: a sensational debut from a very gifted artist.

Reasons You Should(n't) Love Me at Kiln Theatre until 12 June 2021

Photo courtesy of Kiln Theatre

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