We’ll Always Have Paris ★★★★

Paul Kalburgi’s plot for We’ll Always Have Paris is a simple one (as the best rom-coms are), although, unlike most, it begins after the heroine’s epic love story. The play centres on a grieving woman with a ticking biological clock, encountering a series of distasteful men online, a catfishing sextortionist, and the lowly IKEA worker who turns up at the end with a freezer bag of Swedish meatballs and 0% wine.

Ginny, the protagonist played by Miranda Colmans, faces hurdle after hurdle in her search for acceptance – the fifth stage of grief. After her fiancé Jerry dies, she exists in her apartment alone for a year, drinking wine, stuffing carbs, stalking her school bullies on Facebook, and watching old Hollywood love stories while attempting to write (and live) her own. She grapples with conflicting emotions of grief and ambition.

Much like Ginny’s internal conflict, what stands out most about this play is its ability to balance humour and emotional depth. An example is when the soundtrack is melancholy while the scene is comedic, and vice versa. Tasteful contrast between the atmosphere and the action is what allows Kalburgi’s writing to exist as more than just another cheesy rom-com, but rather a witty and compelling bit of theatre that is as heartwarming as it is hard-hitting.

But also, the White Bear Theatre is a Fringe gem of South London. Nestled between townhouses, the classic pub’s upstairs space is a gorgeous venue to stage Kalburgi’s most recent rom-com venture. Small enough to feel cosy while big enough to stand the test of a cinematic story, Gabriel Burns’ DIY set sits perfectly. The set transforms from a drab apartment into a cinema; then IKEA, a gym, and a quaint Parisian flat – all very well realised despite the constraints of a tighter budget, a smaller space and two stagehands.

Every actor delivers a great performance, but Eliza Williams is a force! In her first appearance, she is Ginny’s foil, Penny, an old mean girl who is soon to be married and ‘living the good life’. She has an exaggerated smile and fake nicety about her that is so believable it actually may stir up some deep feelings of schooltime resentment… however. Her second appearance as Ginny’s mother is just the opposite. Warming and sincere with a quick wit that comes with tough motherly love, Williams is hard to look away from. Cyril Blake is a talented multiroller too, playing countless male characters from countless backgrounds – not an easy feat! Last but not least, Miranda Colmans monologues her way through the show with aplomb. With her precise comic timing, she is sure to have you laughing out loud.

We’ll Always Have Paris has a depth to it underneath the silliness that makes it a genuinely heartwarming play. Never mind the occasional line bluff, rough transition or wonky light placement, the play works as a very good and very watchable two-hour piece. Watching it is nothing but refreshing and uplifting.