A Pretty Shitty Love



 I am glad and thankful that I have no hang ups about going to the theatre on my own. 
Tonight, I grabbed a cheap 10£ ticket for Theatre Clwyd ‘s production of A Pretty Shitty Love by Katherine Chandler and again I was stunned by an innovative, provocative and intensely moving piece of Theatre. 
A two handed piece set in working South Wales we are introduced to a cheerful but damaged Hayley ( Danielle Bird) abandoned by an alcoholic father as a child and desperate for love. The object of her affection is the taciturn and damaged soul Carl ( Daniel Hawksworth) the product of a drug induced death mother as a teen. The couple’s tragic love affair is cleverly portrayed in and around a Perspex set full of photos and words from Hayley’s prison letters to Carl and although the physical violence of the abuse between perpetrator and victim is only alluded to the true horror of the violence is underlined by one, clever but truly horrid scene when Hayley s left for dead and buried on a Sandy beach.
Domestic Violence has been depicted many times in stage and screen as we all know but this production, which depicts a true story, brings a new terrible light to an age old abuse problem.

14 comments:

  1. My God, I just read a review and it is based on a true event. How horrific!

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    1. The real victim was shown on the set at the very end

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  2. Sounds excellent, fascinating, and horrific.

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  3. Sometimes you're your own best company John.

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  4. It sounds a bit hard-going for me. My taste in Theatre is a bit parochial; established by watching my mother on stage.

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  5. That can't have been easy to portray on the stage so successfully. What a tragic relationship.

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  6. Children damaged by their parents is, sadly, an all too familiar story. Not an easy watch, I suspect, but a riveting one. xx

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  7. I'm with Cro on this. I guess I'm not into gritty plays or films.

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  8. I'm with Cro and Bovey Belle here.
    I like theatrical productions to leave me feeling happy!
    There's enough pain and tragedy in the world, I have no wish to see it on the stage too! X

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  9. Not sure what my opinion is - shall have to think about it.

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  10. Thought provoking, memory provoking for some

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  11. I was anorexic and addicted to valium-Unwisely dating a pathetic soul who I felt I could help -The Doctor visiting me at home looked at him and then commented to my parents"He'll be no good for her" x

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  12. I'm happy to go go shows by myself, as long as i can get an aisle seat so i only have to sit next to one random. Sounds like it would be a bit too grim and gritty for me though.

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  13. Sounds like an innovative portrayal of a story old as time but one we still want to pretend doesn't exist.

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