Ache

I saw Ache at Circa on Saturday night. A very enjoyable play you could relate to about the dating scene in Wellington.

Richard Dey and Renee Lyons play the main characters, a man and a woman in their 20s who meet at the bar of a wedding. A chance encounter but not their only one. He’s uninspired and she’s just back from London. She’s also tottering in some ridiculously large heels.

Over the next 75 minutes they also meet up at a sushi restaurant, a police station, an art gallery, the beach and again at a wedding. Some of them unplanned, some planned.

The set design is very elegant and flexible. A few boxes being moved changes it from one scene to the next.

Dey and Lyons are joined by Amy Usherwood and Jack Buchanan who play multiple other roles from whiny girlfriends to police officers. All for actors are excellent and give a memorable performance.

You can see the comedic talents of director Lyndee-Jane Rutherford, and her knowledge of Wellington. As a Wellingtonian both the set feels very real, but also the encounters. Many of us have had the “meet someone interesting” at a function and not sure if you’ll see them again, along with the situation where you think both are interested but not both available.

The play was written by Pip Hall, the current President of the Writers Guild.

A very fun play that the young and young at heart can enjoy.

Rating: ****