The Lover

Translated and adapted from the Marguerite Duras novel by Colin Duckworth, The Lover is a monologue for Kate Kendall who masterfully draws us in to the world of 1930’s Saigon, where a poor 14-year-old French girl falls in love with a wealthy 27-year-old Chinese man, and we witness the intimacies and the repercussions of their doomed affair.

The play is beautifully written and directed, enticing the audience into the world of the young girl, where you share the sights and smells of exotic tropical locations and at times venture into intensely intimate bedroom scenes.

Throughout the performance Kate Kendall displays an extraordinary ability to move from character to character with just a subtle change of stance or intonation. This performance should be required viewing for all would-be thespians and is a masterclass on how to perform a monologue. 

The staging was simple but clever - literally a tiny velvet-lined box set with a small thrust stage, an upstage door, a central couch and a few props. Lighting was atmospheric and sympathetic to the performance as was the music, which punctuated the action and allowed the audience and performer a small breath every now and then.

But the strength of this show is the performance of Kate Kendall – she is truly extraordinary in The Lover.

Shirley Jensen