What I liked
The dialogue
The pacing.
The immediacy.
The characters.
The no frills approach to dramatic setups.
What I didn't like
If I had to pick something, which is no easy task – it would just be that, by no fault of their own, all 4 actors felt a bit too young for the character archetypes they were portraying. Luckily the writing and performances were deft enough that that concern quickly melted away as the narrative progressed.
My overall impression
Olivia Cordell’s ‘This Our Now’ is a delicious little allegory for the lies we tell ourselves, and how those lies effect the ones we love. I can’t remember a better juxtaposition of such pervasive human themes with such a contemporary, playful sensibility. Often times, theatrical musings on these topics feel cryptic or inaccessible, but This Our Now is dripping with immediacy and intention – with dialogue paced at such a furious clip, you don’t even have time to reflect. You’re simply right with the characters from the opening scene to the closing moments in a very present, proscenium way that not only leaves you hanging on every word, but also leaves you reflecting on how the themes apply to your own situation. 5/5
