Inspired by their own life events, Kyle Falconer, best known as the singer from the Scottish band The View, and his life partner, Laura Wilde, joined forces with writer Johnny McKnight to explore how they could turn Kyle’s album, No Love Songs for Laura, into a musical. The resulting show, now named No Love Songs, led to a sold-out season at Edinburgh Fringe in 2023, followed by a UK tour and an off-Broadway stint.
No Love Songs has landed at one of Sydney’s newest theatre venues, The Foundry. Getting into the theatre is like finding a hidden passageway at the Lyric Theatre. Leaving the larger crowds behind, one ends up in what feels like a secret room. The space is bare, featuring just the mere essentials to stage a show. On stage, a few sound equipment cases, a couple of mics and a keyboard make up the set and the orchestra. There is hardly any separation from the audience, but what starts as a lack of ‘theatre magic’ ends up pulling us even closer to the actors.
No lights dimming, no announcement, just our cast of two casually walking on stage as if they’d been there all along. It takes a minute or two to get into the show. Lana, played by Lucy Maunder (Chicago, Mary Poppins), is off to a fun night out at the pub where Jesse, played by Keegan Joyce (Please Like Me, Rake), is performing as the featured live singer – still in the very early days of his musical career.
A little bit of dialogue and a little bit of singing, and we witness the pair falling in love at first sight. It’s a cute moment, but it feels like something we’ve seen before. One could be fooled into expecting a formulaic progression into a classic rom-com. Not quite.
The lighting design by Grant Anderson is particularly effective in setting the mood, moving us from one scene to another. With no warning, we’re now witnessing Lana giving birth to the couple’s first child. ‘The little man’ is as far as we’ll get to find out the baby’s name. The scene is loaded with emotions but also perfectly conveys how physically challenging giving birth can be. Watching Lana grapple with the pain she’s going through whilst Jesse stands by, hopeless, sets the tone for what is about to unfold.
There is no instruction manual for parenting. Suddenly, it’s you and your partner both in the driver’s seat with more questions than answers. Life is full of these big moments, which we’re somehow expected to know how to perfectly navigate. And yet, when our gut fails us, can become so utterly terrifying and alienating. There is the pure joy of welcoming new life to the world, but there are also the “what if I wasn’t ready?” and “what if I fail?” feelings.
And then there is the practicality of it all, the need to bring enough cash in to sustain the new family. So, when Jesse is faced with an opportunity to propel his career with a US tour, it’s a no-brainer. He’s off and Lana’s now at home with ‘the little man,’ alone. It should all be fine. Yes, there’s sleep deprivation; yes, there’s the forever-growing mess in the house; yes, there’s an endless number of nappies to change. But everyone else does it, right?
No Love Songs is determined to tell the story which TV shows and movies love to gloss over. It is incredibly raw and refreshingly real. There is a sense of relief watching two humans living life as it can actually be, rather than trying to show us how it is meant to be.
The descent from struggling to cope to full-blown postnatal depression could easily come across as heavy-handed, but here it is all so carefully balanced it feels nothing but genuine. And there is a lot at play to achieve this.
The writing, by Laura Wilde and Johnny McKnight, perfectly captures the authenticity of the moments we are taken through. Only just enough is said for you to imagine the rest. The jokes are effective and well-timed. They come across as real, never forced.
The songs sound like they were always written for this musical, rather than the other way around. Kyle Falconer’s melody impeccably supports the complex gradient of emotions on display and his lyrics bring the perfect set of poetic turns.
Under the co-direction of Andrew Panton and Tashi Gore, Lucy Maunder and Keegan Joyce are the ideal couple to bring it all to life. Lucy’s voice is rich and colourful but also incredibly pure and powerful, bringing great contrast to her character. Keegan’s is also loaded with emotions, shifting in intensity depending on the moment whilst convincing as a rock/pop singer. Their two voices blend impeccably and the duets both delight and punch us hard as these two keep trying to figure it all out.
On such a minimal set, there is absolutely nowhere to hide. It is Lucy’s and Keegan’s powerhouse acting that is the most arresting to watch. Whether it is the way they look at or away from each other, the other characters they bring into the story, or the way they come to life in a particular anecdote, it all comes together beautifully and grabs us in a way we did not see coming.
There are no filters, no touch-ups, no carefully curated story, and no artificial glitz. Just two beautiful humans who, just like us, are only trying to figure life out, hoping not to “turn into monsters” in the process. The result is theatre at its best. No Love Songs is a refreshing and poignant story that reminds us of the power of genuine connections.
No Love Songs runs until 13 April at The Foundry Theatre at Sydney Lyric Theatre, 55 Pirrama Road Pyrmont 2009.
Parramatta tour dates: 13 – 18 May, Riverside Theatres
Adelaide tour dates: 21 May – 1 June, Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Other cities are currently waitlisting with details to be announced.
Tickets: https://nolovesongs.com.au/#tickets
Website: https://nolovesongs.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/nolovesongsau/
Photo credits: Brett Boardman
