Review: ANYTHING WITH A PULSE, Park Theatre

A meet-cute framed by desperation, booze and The Killers' "Mr Brightside" is the kicking off point for Anything With A Pulse, written and directed by Eliana Ostro.

That first conversation with someone you really fancy is probably the most awkward experience on this planet. Evolution for some reason has decided that that is the point when we lose moisture from our mouths, blood from our brains and common sense from wherever we store that. The mere fact that people do get together and have relationships flies in the face of the biological impediments and is frankly something of a minor miracle of life.

Wading through the emotional cesspit that is singledom, M (Rufus Love) and W (Annie Davison) bump into each other at a club. When we first meet them, M has been recently dumped by his ex and is there with several mates high on testosterone and unbridled optimism. W, meanwhile, is looking for an upgrade on her casual lover Simon, a wealthy doctor with the personality of wallpaper paste and an inability to make her laugh or come; we get the sense that, if it wasn't for his cute puppy, W would have kicked him to the kerb some time ago.

Love and Davison inhabit M and W fully, bringing to life the tortured thoughts and actions which lead their characters to come together then pull away. As we watch M and W go from lover to lover and then (possibly) come full circle, there's a directness and vigor to Love and Davison's acting which draws us immediately into the story and its denizens. They also play multiple characters and cross gender with barely a hitch: Love is particularly good as W's female flatmate while Davison is very on the nose when playing M's manspreading macho buddies.

Ostro's dialogue for M and W is broken down pretty much evenly between what the characters are thinking and what they say and the juxtaposition of the two parts is often hilarious. Both have to deal with a maelstrom of insecurities, social pressures and self-doubt. This prevents them being vulnerable and open with each other beyond the surface level, despite the strong spark evident from the off.

Anything With A Pulse could be accused of being a "his 'n' hers Fleabag" and there is more than a pinch of truth in that thanks to Ostro's confessional approach, the fourth-wall breaking and a punchy script with a considerably high hit rate both in terms of laughs and insights. The earthy tone is redolent of Irvine Welsh and there's even a moral of sorts by the end: all the looks in the world can't compensate for a shallow personality, a jealous nature or not being able to cook macaroni cheese.

The direction is probably the finest aspect of this play. The movements of and the physical space between M and W are beautifully used to evoke their sentiments, the pacing is sublime and, when we shift forward in time or between the viewpoints of M and W, the switching is expertly handled. Despite the minimal props, Ostro creates a very relatable world of hookups, hangovers and regrets and populates it with engaging characters.

While ostensibly in the same bailiwick as Constellations and Lungs, this is far more of a white-knuckle ride into the heart of a modern source of darkness. Call it a hunch but I suspect this is far from the last we have heard of Anything With A Pulse and I'm eagerly looking forward to what this exciting writer/director and her Wonky Donkey company come up with next.

Anything With A Pulse continues at Park Theatre until 26 November. It is presented as part of Park Theatre's Make Mine A Double programme.

Photo credit: Annabelle Mastin-Lee

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