Louise (writer/performer Emmy Happisburgh) is a middle-aged mum who has a stable, sensible life. But she remembers the Second Summer of Love, so when daughter Molly (Rosa Studwick) is studying ecstasy for her homework, memories come flooding back.
Young Lou was a raver and a singer who performed at gigs. At 16, she swallowed her first ‘white dove’ and didn’t look back for five years. She dated the fittest boy in the town and felt part of a community.
The bulk of this play has Happisburgh, solo, bringing back the 90s rave scene and the characters within it. She plays Eddie, Brian, and Julie as well as her younger self. Molly (a slang word for ecstacy) is played by her real-life daughter.
The set of cubes that light up in different colours when they are moved and stacked allows for a dance class (‘ravercise’, with weird movements that owe nothing to authenticity), a car journey, or a living room.
The physicality of Second Summer of Love is what makes it original and pleasing. Together with director Scott Le Crass, Happisburgh developed a visual shorthand for each character to differentiate them. It’s also clear that Lou/Louise are at very different stages in their lives.
In celebration of rave culture, Second Summer of Love focuses on the youth movement, illegal and hidden, that made Generation X babies feel they could change the world.
Perhaps the revelation that fit Eddie works in the city (“when did he become a c*nt?”) is a bit too predictable, and the appearance of older Brian (Christopher Freestone) might be a slight misstep, but the bulk of this play will resonate with those who were there.
It would be very interesting to see this as a fully cast production (especially the dreadful instructor Saffy and the young ravers), but Happisburgh offers an extremely accessible character in Louise and brings those on the fringes to life.
With the use of rave tunes and lighting to emphasise different moods, this play has strong tech and a lot of heart. This is Happisburgh’s first professional play, taking the dance floor into London’s Drayton Arms Theatre.
Although I thought the play lost a bit of momentum towards the end, it is definitely a show I’d recommend you try to see, whether you are Gen X or your parents are!
I’m saying 3.5* for this one.
Second Summer of Love is at Drayton Arms Theatre until 6 Sep – details here. It heads to the Alma Tavern, Bristol on 12-13 Sep (tickets) and the Arts Centre, Cranleigh on 4 Oct (tickets).
Image credit: Contentment Productions Instagram