Review by Lauren Donikian
A poem spoken out loud to set the scene and admit feelings, but are these said to oneself or to the person they are sharing the stage with? Those were my thoughts after the houselights had come on. Written by Laura Lethlean, Two Hearts introduces us to a couple that meet at a house party in Sydney’s inner west. Through flashbacks of their relationship, we see their meet-cute, their love story as it develops, and we watch on as it heartbreakingly falls apart. However, they aren’t alone. They are joined by ‘It’ who asks the hard questions and forces them to look at their life and choices.
With a set beautifully created by Set and Props Designer Jason Lowe the cast of three make the most of the space. The three-tiered wooden stage includes stairs, a hidden drawer on the side to hold beer bottles, and a frosted single pane window which hangs from the top tier. Scenes that take place at the house party all occur in front of the window on the top tier with all the other scenes taking place on the other tiers and stage. Lighting Designer Jasmin Borsovszky uses blackouts to signify the end of scenes as well as spotlights on characters when our focus is to be turned on them. The lighting is soft and muted in the beginning of the play and turns harsh as it ends, as the characters make a hard decision. Sound Designer Charlotte Leamon creates a soundscape which enhances the emotions you are feeling by underscoring some scenes and highlighting others with sound effects.
Director Kirsty Semaan creates intimacy and distance through the use of proximity of her characters. From the very beginning ‘Her’ (Danette Potgieter) and ‘Him’ (Yarno Rohling) stand close to each other with their shoulders touching. Even when they first sit down, they are not afraid to nestle in close. This includes the ‘It’ character played by Lisa Hanssens who on several occasions lies down in the same position as her scene partner as she mirrors their movements. Given that we are unsure of who this ‘It’ character is we can tell that they are intrinsically linked to the lovers. Especially in moments where they are sitting face to face with Potgieter, legs crossed with their knees touching. This play relies on its characters chemistry, and this can’t be denied in this pairing.
Danette Potgieter plays ‘Her’ as confident, and self-assured. As the character is always throwing out questions to get a better read on situations Potgieter is electric and plays the black cat to Rohling’s ‘Him’ labrador like portrayal perfectly. Moving comfortably around the stage Potgieter and Yarno Rohling have a believable bond. Clearly smitten from the start Rohling’s ‘Him’ is earnest and excited about this new situation. He doesn’t seem as concerned about the world around him and just wants to make ‘Her’ happy. He is a very likeable character and Rohling’s portrayal is believable. Lisa Hanssens plays ‘It’ which is an interesting character, as it serves as the voice of reason for the lovers. With a childlike curiosity but dialogue that makes this character sound wise beyond their years Hanssens portrayal is direct and focused. Watching her co-stars’ choices and following them at certain times means that her character doesn’t have much of an identity, but it does have a point of view.
I enjoyed Two Hearts; it was thought provoking and different to other shows that I’ve seen as the dialogue was weaved in with the poem. Beautiful words hid truths and that is easy to do in real life relationships. If you are after a show that is honest about the feelings of love and loss, then this is the show for you.
