"Stockholm Love" – A haunting and heartbreaking physical drama

Kim (Nguyen Minh Anh – MeA Minh Anh) and Jake (Tran Quoc Nam – Nam Tran) – two people who are deeply in love, immersed in passion, but at the same time trapped in layers of hurt, jealousy and control.

On the afternoon of May 14, Eclipse stage reviewed the physical play "Stockholm Love" - ​​the physical play will be performed at Cua Studio (01 Truong Dinh Hoi, Ward 18, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City), with two versions in English and Vietnamese, taking place on May 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 30, 31 and June 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15.

The theme of the play is about how love can be redeemed when one of the two realizes what broke their heart and wants to heal it. Love can also imprison and is a fierce, fierce but humane whisper of a deep relationship between two loving hearts, helping them forgive and move forward.

The 90-minute play takes the audience on a haunting journey of Kim (Nguyen Minh Anh – MeA Minh Anh) and Jake (Tran Quoc Nam – Nam Tran) – two people who are deeply in love, immersed in passion, but at the same time trapped in layers of hurt, jealousy and control.

Directed by talented director John Andrew Cunnington – who also designed the stage – and based on a script by author Bryony Lavery, "Stockholm Love" does not use dialogue to tell the story like a traditional play. Instead, every emotion – from passion and sweetness to heartbreak and suffocation – is expressed through body movements, lighting, music and silence.

From left to right: John Andrew Cunnington and two actors Nguyen Minh Anh - Tran Quoc Nam

Director Ton That Can - Permanent Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association commented: "This is a form of physical drama that is experimental but very close and touches deeply the emotions of the audience. The only thing is that the actors' lines need to be adjusted because the play does not use microphones, and the auditorium does not have good soundproofing, leading to many dialogues that the audience cannot hear clearly."

With the skillful use of space, the author has created a play that makes the audience follow Kim and Jake on a journey of intense, captivating but also chaotic love. They exchange passionate glances and suspicious looks. They hold each other tightly as if afraid of losing each other – but also suffocate each other’s trust and freedom. In that relationship, they are not only lovers, but also the key keeper and the captive – roles that constantly change in an endless cycle.

The play's handling of space and light is very unique, creating many emotional levels for the audience and evoking deep imagination about the play's theme.

"Stockholm Love" promises to make viewers sob with unspoken questions: When is love a connection? When does it become a chain? How to recognize the fragile line between care and control, between affection and hurt?

Each movement of the two actors with interwoven dialogue, sometimes monologue, the two characters tell the story through their bodies combined with sound and light designed by Huynh Phat and Tran Hoang Thach Thao and original music composed by Thach Thao, creating an interesting stage space.

With meticulous investment from production directors Lang Thanh Nhi and Aaron Toronto, and minimalist but intentional costumes by Thach Thao, "Stockholm Love" is not only a work of art - it is a subtle touch on the hidden corners of the modern human soul.

Through body and music, they tell a very vivid, emotional story in a very new staging form.

The play is not just for lovers. It is for everyone who has ever loved, been hurt, or suffocated in a relationship that they don’t know whether to keep or let go. Because “Stockholm Love” doesn’t tell an unfamiliar story – it reflects a part of the audience.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tinh-yeu-stockholm-vo-kich-cham-vao-cam-xuc-cua-khan-gia-196250514174107803.htm