Melbourne Fringe: Love in the Key of Britpop

Love in the Key of Britpop is a solo work written and performed by Emily Andersen. Coming from the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe, it came along at exactly the right time for me in my Melbourne Fringe experience, as a show with a considered script written by a skilled performer.

It’s the tale of Melbourne anglophile grrl meets  English backpacker boy in a nightclub in 2006. Sharing a passion for Britpop, its personalities and history, the new pair spend nights spent drinking gin and tonics and dancing to their own Bittersweet Symphony. Is the bond of music strong enough to help two troubled people find their Oasis or will they be forced to confront the paradox that Love Will Tear Us Apart?

While I appreciated the show and its use of language, I did feel that a little more scene-setting might help the uninitiated get more from the piece.  Andersen and her director Marline Zaibak shared a flat in London, a dream of many young Aussies. While the London references might re-create tremours for those who’ve done a British pilgrimage, they’re less potent for those with less immersion in that world. In a similar way, not every Melburnian is part of the inner-north bubble. At times the monologue leant on references to certain bars or dwelt on the hedonism of the characters, making them unlike Common People burdened with such dull tasks as having to earn a living. This was balanced in the second half of the piece, where the characters experience reality beyond the confines of indie discos and coffee shops, and their relationship resonates more as result.

Amidst the Blur of a Fringe festival, shows with little substance to develop are easily forgotten. This one is much more than Pulp and with some further polish, it will bring snap, crackle and Britpop to a broader audience.