Lovesong Analysis

Not Just another Love Story

An Interpretation of Lovesong

Frantic Assembly is a British theatre company that specialises in the development of exciting postmodern and contemporary performances for new audiences (Frantic Assembly). A great example of a postmodern contemporary theatre piece is the performance Lovesong, which was created by the artistic directors of Frantic Assembly, Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett. The riveting performance explores the story of an old couple’s relationship from its humble beginnings to its unfortunate ending. In the performance, two actors play an old couple of Bill and Margaret, whilst another two actors play the younger version of these characters. Bill and Margaret’s relationship development throughout

The manipulation of the non-text based elements was displayed through the distinct contrast of dancing styles between the older couple and their younger selves. In the beginning of the performance, older Bill envisions a younger version of his wife exiting from the brightly, white-lit fridge to dance with him. In this scene, Bill is dancing in a dignified manner as both his feet maintain firm grip to the ground, while his torso sways gently side to side. This dancing style is representative of an older and sophisticated individual which alludes to the audience that his refined style is due to his wisdom of experience. However, in stark contrast, younger Margaret’s dancing is youthful and energetic as she performs complicated flips and turns around older Bill’s neck. Younger Margaret’s energetic dancing can be attributed to her optimism of youth. As a result, the contrast in older Bill’s refined dancing to younger Margaret’s energetic dancing displays how the optimism of youth becomes the wisdom of experience; hence it is effective in communicating the dramatic meaning to the audience. However, this contrast in dance styles between the older and younger version of the characters is not an isolated incident but instead present throughout the entirety of the performance. Near the end of the performance, young Bill dances with older Margaret. Young Bill’s movements are energetic and youthful similar to young Margaret’s moves, whilst, older Margaret’s movements are refined and sophisticated, similar to old Bill’s moves. Since the older characters dance differently to the younger characters, it is clear to see that there is a correlation between dance movements and age. This correlation alludes to the possibility that the older couples’