BWW Reviews: LOVE STORY, Union Theatre, October 3 2014

The Howard Goodall season continues at the Union Theatre in Southwark, a celebration of a neglected musical theatre composer; this production of Love Story showcases the strengths of one of his most famous pieces but also occasionally highlights its weaknesses.

Victoria Serra brings a sweetness to the assertive Jenny Cavilleri that some of her predecessors in the role haven't quite managed; it must be tempting to rely on the character's quick-witted ripostes in lieu of actual interpretation, but that risks portraying a certain abrasiveness that never quite engages our sympathy.

She and David Albury, as Oliver Barratt IV, capture the youth and passion of the student couple; and the intimacy of the venue works well with this chamber piece and minimalist orchestrations, although the solo and harmony vocals are not as slick as perhaps would be ideal; and with no amplification some notes and words are lost to the acoustics. The music is both beautiful and often metaphorical, but some twee lyric choices are occasionally jarring - on a bigger stage this can be missed, but when the audience is so close there's no overlooking it.

Maybe the biggest question-mark is over some of the directorial choices within the space's limitations - 'Pasta', while allowing Serra and Albury to demonstrate their connection and chemistry, did not really and perhaps could not show the progression of time in this montage-esque song.

And the script and story allow for a depth to what could be an overly sentimental tragedy, bringing in parental conflict and permitting a conclusion that allows onlookers to consider another sort of "love story", not simply the romantic ideal. This pared-back version sidelines the presence of the patriarchs, Phil Cavilleri and Oliver Barratt III - it creates a certain simplicity but also a less satisfying denouement, leaving us facing only the bleakness of Oliver IV's life alone.

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