Wanderlust, Royal Court Theatre

Wanderlust, Royal Court Theatre | reviews, news & interviews

Wanderlust, Royal Court Theatre

New play about sex and intimacy makes you cringe in self-recognition

by Aleks SierzFriday, 17 September 2010

Practice makes perfect: Isabella Laughland as Michelle and James Musgrave as TimSheila Burnett

Middle-class family angst is this season’s theme at the Royal Court Theatre. And, in his new play about sex and intimacy, which opened last night, playwright Nick Payne puts the lust in Wanderlust and creates a contemporary tale of wandering hands and wandering affections. We are in a nice suburban part of England, and the mix of pain and pleasure will be all too familiar to most audiences, whether they are teenagers who can squirm at the antics of the youngsters, or middle-aged couples who might find the more mature characters shockingly recognisable.

Here, as in the wider world, emotional intelligence is a quality in short supply, and love is still the strongest four-letter word

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