LOVE AND OTHER STORIES

Trent Dalton has to be one of the liveliest, most charming, most endearing person I’ve ever seen and heard on a stage. I first heard him speak last month at the IPAC, in conversation with ABC’s  Melinda James, where together they discussed the journey behind his best-seller book Love Stories and its stage adaptation. Dalton explained that he had been gifted a typewriter a few years back, so took to a street corner one day with the typewriter in tow and began asking strangers for love stories. The stories he gathered became the book, and took on a life larger than anyone could have expected. This is unsurprising to me now though, having heard Dalton’s wit, passion and grit first-hand. 

So, that book has since been adapted into a play which is now showing at the IPAC until the 8th of March. I was lucky enough to watch the performance last week and I have to say—it was nothing short of breathtaking. It made me belly laugh, cry, gasp, over and over. The one-liners it featured were pure gold, and I reckon there would be very few people who would disagree. If you’re a romantic, an emotionally suppressed gym boy, a tiresome mother, doting grandma or DINKS partner, let me tell you, you will love this show. There’s something in it for everyone. I didn’t see a single person leave the theatre without a smile on their face. The camaraderie and versatility of the cast wove the piece together beautifully. Each character drew you in with a new life lesson that always wound up impressing on you some new meaning of love that you hadn’t known before. You can grab your tickets here now, to learn all these life lessons, and probably should before they sell out!