Marcia Rowe, Gleaner Writer

Glen 'Titus' Campbell and Camille Davis in a scene from Patrick Brown's 'Love Games'. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

"Back by popular demand!" screamed the printed advertisement. And the nearly full house, which turned out last Friday at Centerstage theatre in St Andrew, was treated to wonderful directing, some fine acting, great costumes and set, and some thought-provoking expressions.

The production? Patrick Brown's Love Games.

Patrick Brown is no doubt a good writer. He showed no reservations in highlighting some of the most common 'love games' to be played in any relationship.

In essence, Love Games is infidelity and deception personified.

But is Brown saying that relationships should be governed by these games? No. In the final motif, the message seemed to be that the consequences of playing these games can be fatal.

Games

The play comprises six motifs/acts. (No doubt each motif has a subtitle, but with the absence of a programme it is hard to say what they are.) However, each motif is used to examine a love game - the game between the commercial sex worker, Gina, and the successful businessman, Rocky Wilson; Rasta Bingy, one of his girlfriends, Trish, and his wife, Ariel; the game between young Maya, her 70-year-old lover, Titus Madden and her young office messenger, Duffus; there is the game of five-some - Vince and Camille, his boss' wife, who is also playing with her psychologist, while her husband, Phillip, is playing love games with Mary Vince's Christian wife; the love game played by the newly-weds is revealed through Colin Charm and his wife Hilda; and finally a disturbing love game played by John and Jane Doe.

While the setting varies in each motif, from a room in a motel, to room in a five-star hotel, the characters are one-dimensional - as expected of a play of this genre, comedy revue. Thus, it was up to the costume designer to produce costumes that would aid the cast in establishing their different roles, and the designer/s did just that.

Challenge

The cast of five, led by Glen Campbell and Camille Davis, also included Lakeisha Ellison, Noelle Kerr and Chris Hutchinson. In most parts they rose to the challenge of playing multiple roles.

Patrick Brown and Trevor Nairne directed well. All acting areas were equally utilised and different levels explored. The entrances and exits were effective in reinforcing humour. Also, removing the 'fourth wall' (whereby the actors speak directly to the audience) to facilitate the scene changes, a Jam Biz production signature blocking, worked.

On the whole, Love Games is not over-the-board funny, but it has its fair share of humour and is worth seeing, especially the last act. But note, this is an adults, only production.