"David Leddy's Untitled Love Story" - Edinburgh Fringe 2011

It's been almost two weeks since we saw the show, but I've wanted to allow some time to reflect on it. The question isn't whether it worked for me or not - it didn't. What I've been desperately trying to do is work out why it didn't work for me. And I'm not sure I'm any closer to doing that...

David Leddy has shown before in "Sub Rosa" and "White Tea" that he can transport an audience a century into the past or halfway across the planet , but "Untitled Love Story" never gave me any sense of Venice. Yes, there are references to the church of Santa Maria della Salute and the Grand Canal but there was no sense of time or space created. Venice should have been the show's fifth character, yet its appearances are only fleeting.

The show's guided meditation elements break up an already fractured narrative and are an acquired taste. One, I'm afraid I grew tired of long before acquiring. Of course, that's my problem and not the show's, but I doubt I was alone in the audience. What I can't fault are the performances from Keith Fleming, Robin Laing, Adura Onoshile and Morag Stark - yet I cared so little about their characters that only Laing's "Priest" managed to retain my interest to the end.

And now I've got a problem. Because I'm not confident enough in my recollection of the show to comment much further. But then, perhaps that speaks more strongly about it than anything I could say.

David Leddy's Untitled Love Story runs at St Georges West until Monday 29th August.
Image by Tim Morozzo used with permission