No Love Songs at Southwark Playhouse
Dive bar indie rock gig meets pure theatre kid energy in this brilliant new musical by Laura Wilde and husband Kyle Falconer (lead vocalist of The View).
Inspired by the couple’s real-life experiences, No Love Songs is about struggle, depression and love as the two characters (Lana and Jesse) meet, fall in love and have a baby together. The show stresses the devastation of postnatal depression and anxiety, a story that many parents go through but isn’t often told. It’s tender and raw, it’s sweet and warming, and it’s dark and upsetting. But above all, it’s honest.
In order to bring some money in, Jesse goes on tour in America leaving Lana in Dundee with their new baby. While Jesse appears to be having a great time, Lana struggles, feeling trapped, anxious and alone. And things get a lot worse as Jesse arrives home.
Tracks from Falconer’s 2021 solo album No Love Songs For Laura are sprinkled throughout to great effect. It’s a soul-piercingly heartfelt collection of indie rock music, and songs like Monsters and Wait Around are particularly moving.
This is for the people who love music and love theatre but have never been keen on musical theatre. It’s an intimate live music gig with the powerful voices and emotional range of West End superstars.
Anna Russel-Martin and John McLarnon are both excellent as Lana and Jesse. They belt out the songs with spine-tingling vocals.
And between the songs, Wilde and Johnny McKnight’s dialogue is filled with depth, humour, sadness and love. And at a tight 75 minutes, there’s not a single word of filler. Every second of the show feels necessary.
No Love Songs is a beautiful gig show that deals with moving real-life struggles. The music is great, the performances are great, the dialogue is great. And it tells an important, poignant story. It would still be well worth watching at twice the ticket price.
Jim Compton-Hall
Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
No Love Songs is at Southwark Playhouse from 4th until 15th June 2024. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.
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