The One returned to the stage for the Subiaco Theatre Festival on the back of a sell-out Fringe season and an encore performance at the recent Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival.
Written and directed by Jeffery Jay Fowler, The One is an honest and raw account of one couples journey into matrimony, flipping tradition and gender perceptions on their head, posing the question, is marriage an outdated convention in today’s society?
Award-winning partnership, Mark Storen and Georgia King (collectively known as Whiskey and Boots) portray the nameless couple with a perfect measure of lust and loathing. The dialogue driven script, comes hard and fast like lyrics of an epic rock song and equally as powerful. In his signature style, Storen caresses his guitar like a beautiful blonde, crooning sorrowful melodies of well-know love songs, rocking us gently between the light and shade of their volatile relationship.
She is stubborn. He is sentimental. She is cynical. He is sympathetic. Their love is electric, real and ripe. But when he decides she is ‘The One’, he retracts, as she unravels.
The One is a melting pot of poetry slam, pub duo, rap music and a Tuesday night out at The Bird for Barefaced Stories. Storen and King deliver the words with passion and energy, and an anger so tangible, the audience would be forgiven for wanting to leave the room, feeling they’d mistakenly stumbling into a moment that doesn’t involve them.
As the short history of this couple unfolds, in a relatable Gen X type of way, we watch like voyeurs as their love fractures and wanes, under the weight of past cultural traditions and atrocities associated with marriage.
Fowler investigates some interesting arguments and opens up a conversation that is sure to fuel debate among lovers and couples. Storen and King are the perfect pairing in these roles. They are sexy, rhythmic and emotional. A faultless performance.
The One plays at Subiaco Arts Centre until Saturday 10 June followed by 10,000 by Umbrella Works Inc where a young couple play a video game in a last ditch attempt to save their marriage. When the game becomes a little too real, they find themselves fighting for more than just their relationship. Check out the Subiaco Arts Centre website for more details about the Subiaco Theatre Festival.
