"And all the world is biscuit shaped..."

I just downloaded XTC's "Senses Working Overtime" for my iPod. The reason behind my sudden rediscovery of Andy Partridge and Co.'s genius lies in a great play that I went to see on my birthday. "Love Song" by John Kolvenbach is currently on at the New Ambassador's theatre in London, starring Cillian Murphy, Neve Campbell, Kristen Johnston and Michael McKean. Kristen Johnston wasn't in it at the performance I attended. Her part was being played by an understudy called Romy, who was really good - her friend was sitting next to my boyfriend and was justifiably proud. But I digress - the whole cast worked extraordinarily well together to bring this play and its little world to life. It was funny, it was touching and it was very clever.

Generally speaking, theatre is theatre film is film, music is music and that's it - those are the categories and each is separate. In "Love Song", though, there is innovative intermingling going on. The play runs for ninety minutes with no interval, which means that the story gets to develop as a whole, much as a film would, and the audience can really engage with the character development (which is central to the plot). The use of established screen actors reinforces this effect. There are lots of scene changes, which for the most part are done mechanically. No stage hands appear - things just move in, up and out on wires and castors. When loose props need to be carried off, the actors do this themselves. Thus the impression of an intimate little world is created; a seamless world draws you into itself and into realtionships with its inhabitants. Scene changes and some of the key moments of the plot are accompanied by bursts of music - love songs in that raw, late 70s, early 80s vein. Sometimes you can see the actors waiting for musical cues before they move and this, combined with the physicality of the way in which the piece is performed (particularly by Murphy and Campbell), makes parts of the action seem almost like dance. As you can see, the play defies categorisation. It stands outside and between imposed boundaries, much like its central character, Beane.

Beane (brilliantly realised by Cillian Murphy) is the outsider around whom all of the action revolves. Sometimes he is tragically endearing, sometimes he is frighteningly elated, but it is always his journey that the plot centres on. He finds love and it changes him. To say much more would ruin the story for anybody else who wants to go and see it (and you should, really, you should), but there is much laughter along Beane's route, as well as many poignant moments that are touching but never sentimental or mawkish. You always get a strong sense that Beane is the only sane character from the start, despite his status as somebody who others are trying to "fix" or help. So it is only fitting that , ultimately, he gets to help everyone else as well as himself. They learn from him and grow because of him.

The whole play, from plot to staging, is a triumph of the imagination. As adults we forget how powerful imagination can be and "Love Song" reminded me, at least, of how it felt to just let your mind be free sometimes. It also reminded me how intense music can feel, especially when you're young, maybe most when you're a teenager and you feel as if the lyrics of every love song have deep, significant meanings. And on that note:

"I've got 1,2,3,4,5 senses working overtime...."
Go and see "Love Song" if you can. It's great.