Sell-out love fest finally lands at the Darlo

Joyous, sexy and heartbreaking, I Want To Know What Love Is is a dizzying ride through love’s collision course. Premiering in 2014, it captivated audiences around the country during two sell-out seasons in Brisbane, a Melbourne season at the 2017 Provocare Festival, and a national tour. Originally planned as part of last year’s program, Darlinghurst Theatre Company is thrilled to finally bring this spectacular tapestry of crowdsourced love stories to Sydney.

The show was devised by Queensland-based performance collective The Good Room. Their approach uses anonymous experiences of ordinary people to create extraordinary theatre works and I Want To Know What Love Is is no different. Members of the public were invited to anonymously submit their stories of love online. These ranged from confessions and quirky anecdotes to stories of heartbreak and first love. While most submissions were romantic, they also included warm stories of familial love.

#285 you steal the blankets but somehow i don’t mind

#331 I’m in love with both of them, I feel like they both love me back, and I’m pretty sure they love each other.

#703 love is having sex in unconventional places like a car, while your friends sit on the kerb and watch

#646 three little words. those three little words changed everything. Kentucky Fried Chicken.

 Over 800 secret submissions were received and transformed into magnificent centre-stage declarations by the writing team of Daniel Evans (director), Amy Ingram (currently the Female MC in Magic Mike Live), Caroline Dunphy, Kieran Swann (designer) and Lauren Clelland. Throwing a spotlight on long-buried memories, bedroom fantasies, crushes and conquests, the result thrilled audiences and critics alike.

“A crowdsourced letter of love and loss; 60 technicolour minutes that will have you cringing, crying and singing along.” – The Australian

“You’ll be moved, and they won’t be rom-com tears.” – Brisbane Times

“Elegant, sophisticated, heartfelt, inspiring and uplifting. You don’t want to miss this.” – XS Entertainment

“It was incredibly physical … Visually spectacular … Constant colour and movement … It’s a relationship condensed into one hour. A really joyous experience – like Valentine’s Day on crack!”  –Fleur Kilpatrick, 3RRR Melbourne

Incorporating story, movement and song in a wildly surprising and often moving way, I Want To Know What Love Is has been created to allow for new submissions to be added over time and it includes stories collected all over the country during the 2019 tour. Now it’s Sydney’s turn, with submissions welcomed online at: www.wewantyourlove.com. This is for everyone who’s ever loved and anyone who’s ever hurt. Short and sweet, lengthy or sour, this is love in all its glory.

I Want To Know What Love Is is a Critical Stages Touring & The Good Room production, opening on 19 May for one week only at Darlinghurst Theatre Company. Tickets are on sale now at www.darlinghursttheatre.com/iwanttoknowwhatloveis