My overall impression
Writer. Director. Star. The most feared set of one-word sentences in the history of the stage. Relax though, they have no power here.
First, the play. Love Labors Won is a modern verse play. If you love the works of Shakespeare, stop reading right now and do what you must to get tickets and attend.
For the rest reading, while the play is in verse, modern is a key word here, and even if you have struggled to follow classic verse plays in the past both the words and the performances (more on the latter in a moment) will carry you along.
A true cad, played by writer-diretor Ryan J-W Smith, is with one woman and desires another. His, perhaps only, friend, chides him and spouts on about the virtues of his own true love…until he lays eyes on the aforementioned object of desire, and is struck himself. Add a couple of scheming rogues to take advantage of both men, and there you are!
All seven actors glibly flit through the verse, as effortlessly as if it were all they had ever spoken. The physical work is equally smooth and well-executed. The whole package is smart, sharp, and not to be missed. But if you need further enticing, and you shouldn’t, I suppose I could mention the chocolate. There what more could you ask for?
