Most couples develop their own private language and codes. Some will even recycle them from one relationship into the next. Once you’ve said “I love you” to one person, is it devalued if you use it for another? When someone tells you “we put a brick through the window”, what are they really saying? Perhaps if words are strictly limited, you have to look more carefully to read between the lines.
That’s what happens to Bernadette (Beth Holmes) and Oliver (Euan Kitson), who first meet in the unpromising environment of a cat cemetery but are soon moving in together. His past relationship with the unseen Julie is a sore point with Bernadette, while the latter’s job as a divorce lawyer clearly grates on him. But things become far more intense when the government – for under-explained reasons – introduces a draconian hush law.
Now, everyone has a daily limit of just 140 words each. When you consider that the average person uses around 123m words during their lifetime, it’s clear that, in such a situation, you’d have to really think hard to ensure you always say what you mean and mean what you say.
On the first day, Bernadette wastes 60 words simply ordering a smoothie – but soon the couple are returning home each night with a hoarded word count. However, if one has used up more than the other at work, does that mean they care less about the relationship? One of the clever things about this tightly packed script by Sam Steiner – beautifully choreographed by director Ed Franklin to show the shifting distance between the couple – is the way it takes the can opener to a typical opposites-attract romcom in order to explore wider issues of democracy and free speech. Because when we are lost for words, we are at our most powerless.
- At Southside, Edinburgh, until 22 August. Box office: 0131-226 0000.
