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By
Jenny Enarsson
In
Tony & Pat, the story is played out on the actors' bodies. Without
words, but with plenty of humour, the audience is taken through
a tormented love story.
On
adjacent allotments, Tony and Pat go about their business. His garden
is oddly lifeless while hers is bursting with flowers. His side
of the dividing line gets very little sun while hers seems to be
constantly bathing in warm rays of light.
Tony - reserved and uptight - receives the occasional beige and
white official envelope in the post, examines it carefully and places
it in a stack under his armchair without opening it. Pat, whose
every thought shows immediately on her face, receives handwritten
letters all colours of the rainbow. She devours them, caresses them,
reads them over and over again before putting them down.
Slowly
a tortured love story starts to unfold between these two very different
characters. Although they are mad about each other, things are complicated.
When Pat - dizzy with love and lust - oversteps the white line that
divides the two allotments, Tony freezes. He wants her but cannot
bear to have her come onto his territory.
The
love that grows in Pat manifests itself in the most touching ways.
In an absolutely delightful scene, her heart sings - literally!
- with joy, and she repeatedly makes the audience laugh out loud.
All her feelings come out in dance, as she barely ever stands still.
When angry, she stomps her feet and tap-dances furiously. When happy,
she spins around so lightly she almost levitates.
Tony
& Pat is physical theatre at its best, as proven by the fact
that afterwards I had to remind myself that not a single word was
spoken throughout the play. Instead, we read the story on the actors'
bodies. Their skills and sensitivity make that reading absolutely
effortless.
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