Love Letters to F**kbois

Two women in crumpled wedding dresses, a pile of brutally honest letters and a pitch perfect pianist. These ingredients form the perfect recipe for an evening of absolute hilarity, tinged with the sharp pangs of heartache that is Love Letters to F**kbois. This highly engaging and interactive show speaks to the shared loneliness that runs rampant in modern society. It highlights the dichotomy of this world of constant, easy, connectivity against the inability for people to commit to any long-term romantic connection. Is Tinder to blame? Are we too spoiled for choice? Is the disposability of modern relationships a symptom of the wider societal habit of over-consumption of products that are so easy to toss in the bin due to their built in obsolescence? Have we lost our patience, empathy and attention spans?

The script isn’t sexist; it’s f**kboi-ist. This isn’t a misandrist rant-fest. It’s a loving, romantic, heartbroken but ultimately hopeful show. It’s a catharsis. The letters are wonderfully written, directed and acted by Melina Wightman and Lia Stark. Plucked at random, the format creates a controlled chaos that builds your excitement and anticipation. It also keeps the show fresh for the performers and allows for some fun moments of improvisation.

These women are hilarious, strong, powerful, vulnerable and infinitely brave. They lay their own sordid and sweet sexual histories on the table. While they harshly harpoon the myriad entitled f**kbois that have crossed their paths, they apply the toughest critiques to themselves. The script is painfully relatable. You want to grab these young women by the shoulders and tell them they’re being too hard on themselves, that they’re beautiful and perfect the way they are. You want to assure them they will find love.

Visually speaking the performance is stunning. The stage is set with piano which is masterfully played by Jayce Mcneill. There’s a chaise, a table with the letters and a ladder, plus a few surprise set pieces that pop out of unexpected places. The lighting by Emma Healy is great at creating the right atmosphere for each letter. The most visually memorable moments involve the scattering of handfuls of rose petals.

Toward the end, Melina and Lia cleverly handle a costume change for themselves by inviting the audience to come to a microphone and share their own Love Letters to F**kbois. The audience stories add an extra element to the shared experience of love lost, the cheats, the liars, the ones who ghost you, the ones who say they love you and disappear, the myriad little ways in which relationships fail or are doomed before they even begin.

The show’s power lies in authenticity and this genuine connection. The whole room bonding over our past relationship failures reminds us of the shared human experience. No matter what technology or society throws our way, we all seek love and we all have our moments of regret, failure and loss. None of the pain stops us from continuing our quest to connect on a meaningful level with another human. This is theatre that allows us to do just that. Love Letters to F**kbois creates meaningful and memorable connections that evoke emotion and thought well beyond leaving the theatre.

Kiesten McCauley 

Photographer: Yasmin Jansen