REVIEW: HOW WE BEGIN by Elisabeth Lewerenz at Vaults Festival 14 – 19 February 2023

‘staccato rhythms, playful structure, and tantalising form made for a refreshing script, effortlessly performed’ ★★★★

Surfacing Acts Theatre’s How We Begin was a huge success at the Vaults last week, nominated for the prestigious Show of The Week alongside some other standout productions. Having attended their final show on Sunday, I could see why. How We Begin tells the heart-warming journey of Diana (Emma Lucia) and Helen (Talia Pick) from best friends to lovers to exes. The audience were expertly guided through how it began to how it ended, being addressed by Diana and Helen as if we were their closest friends. We were made to feel a part of their relationship through Elizabeth Benbow’s intimate staging and Elisabeth Lewerenz’s tantalising words.

Lucia and Pick offered great performances and worked well as a double-act, both sharing the space compassionately. They offered intimacy, humour, passion, and pain all in the right moments and allowed the audience to completely relax as they very quickly gained our trust. They were great performers as they effortlessly switched between narrators, scene partners, and secondary characters. Lucia shone as she took on Diana fearlessly. Pick had a more difficult job as Helen, with more complexity and unspoken feelings that needed to be subtly shared to the audience. With more time (and more funding and support), these subtleties could be drawn out even more.

Benbow’s direction was nice, with the use of the traverse layout making for a more intimate setting. The use of space was effective and kept the audience both on their feet and comfortable, mirroring these conflicting feelings that the characters on stage were also experiencing. As the play develops further, which it definitely should, I think Benbow could go further with using the space in a playful and daring way, to match the mood of the play even more. 

The thing that made How We Begin so heart-warming and entertaining was Lewerenz’s words. The staccato rhythms, playful structure, and tantalising form made for a refreshing script. The way in which the characters were made to finish each other's sentences, slide effortlessly into mimicking the other people in this love story, and trick the audience into thinking they were talking about one thing before surprising us with what they were actually talking about, was brilliant! All these elements came together to produce a flirtatious text that directly echoed the bubblings of the relationship we were being shown. The text was written as if we were sharing the unique love language of these two characters as we were pricked and prodded by the playfulness of the script. We were directly addressed as if we were their best mates and carried across the story through each and every word. Lewerenz is truly a playwright to look out for.

How We Begin is an honest and open portrayal of bisexuality that is rarely explored and celebrated on stage and Lewerenz’s script is outstandingly refreshing. It deserved the acclaim it received and will be sure to go on to develop further. With more flirtatious direction, echoing the relationship we see before us, and further character development on the role of Helen, How We Begin could go on to be something brilliant! This is certainly a group of creatives to keep your eye on.

HOW WE BEGIN by Elisabeth Lewerenz

Presented by Surfacing Acts Theatre and Antonia Georgieva

Twitter @how_begin

Reviewed by Amy Tickner

Amy is a theatre maker based in North London. She has directed for many companies at various pub theatres across London and her debut play ‘Jammy Dodgers’ had successful runs at Theatre N16, Etcetera Theatre, The Cockpit, and Edinburgh Fringe Festival.