Review: (Ottawa) Never Fall in Love With a Writer

Structure isn't Everything
by Robyn Lester
@robinrobynrob

Written by Sterling Lynch, this one-woman play centres on a woman’s relationship with a writer.  Jennifer Capogreco does an excellent job playing the four different characters; Grace, Samuel, Amy, and James.   It is also worth noting that the script was written clearly enough that the characters were easily distinguishable from one another—a very important thing when it comes to a one person show.  

The premise is fairly straightforward.  Grace is telling her granddaughter (Amy) the story of her and Samuel, the writer.  There is an element of nostalgia, but the play did little to move me.  I didn’t really identify with the characters.  Samuel seemed far too pretentious.  His character was essentially an embodiment of the romanticised notion of the writer—the all-knowing, wise, isolated creature writers are believed to be.  I found that this approach distanced me from the piece.  And Grace’s willingness to live vicariously through him, frustrated me.

I also found the message a little convoluted.  There were a couple of times when I thought that the play was going to say something about the importance of perseverance and staying true to yourself, but it didn’t really follow through.     

It was a well-structured piece.  However, despite its good pacing and cyclical feel, with the original song “Don’t Fall in Love with a Writer” book-ending the play, it left me feeling a little empty.  Like I wanted something more

Never Fall in Love With a Writer is at the Ottawa Fringe