I sat down with writer and director Sining Gui to find out more about 10 Loves, coming to the Bread & Roses Theatre as part of Lambeth Fringe this November.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
10 Loves follows a couple living under a law that requires them to say “I love you” ten times a day and spend thirty uninterrupted minutes talking to each other. Across six moments in their relationship, the rule stays exactly the same, while everything around those words begins to change.
In terms of what it feels like, I think the show sits somewhere between a duvet gone cold and stiff, and that hour at dusk when you haven’t turned the lights on yet, and two people are curled up on the sofa, half-asleep, half-talking, their phone screens lighting their faces.
What drew you to this specific story?
I stayed in the UK to pursue theatre, supporting myself through relatively low-paid, physically demanding retail work. But the work that allowed me to keep making theatre was also consuming the time and energy I needed to actually make it.
I think that contradiction is familiar to many people trying to hold on to something they genuinely care about while making a living. You don’t want to lose sight of the thing you were working for in the first place. In real life, that pressure to keep caring often comes from within. In 10 Loves, I turn it inside out: it becomes an external rule, literally requiring two people to keep expressing love.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
Probably working within limited time, money and energy. I’m balancing the production with retail work, and the actors are balancing rehearsals with their own jobs too, so sometimes someone leaves rehearsal and goes almost straight to work.
I’ve also taken on several roles alongside writing and directing, including the graphic, prop and technical design, and I programmed the timer and counter system myself. There’s something slightly ironic about making a play about how work can drain our capacity for the things we care about while experiencing a little of that in the process of making it.
How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?
The design is extremely minimal: two chairs, restrained lighting and sound, and a visible timer and counters. There is something slightly distancing about that simplicity, while the timer and counters bring in a conceptual, almost science-fiction quality and keep the premise of the play constantly present.
At the same time, the text and performances are very naturalistic and grounded in ordinary life. I really like the friction between those two theatrical languages: something deliberately constructed and slightly unreal sitting alongside something very recognisable and human.
If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
“Love after a long day.” I don’t want to define what that love feels like, how much of it is left, or even whether it’s still there. I don’t want to decide whether it becomes a comfort or another burden. I only know that this question exists, both in the play and in our everyday lives. And I think every audience member may have a different answer.
10 Loves runs at the Bread & Roses Theatre, London, from 5 – 6 October. Tickets available at https://lambethfringe.com/events/10-loves
