FRINGE REVIEW: 27 Pictures a surprisingly poignant look at love

27 Pictures

Stage 22, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 10037 84 Ave.

4 stars out of 5

(Cue Def Leppard’s Photograph.)

Good old, complicated love!

The embedded irony of a “disposable” camera making forever memories is explored in this funny and sometimes harrowing relationship comedy.

Starting with the tingling first seconds of a relationship in a meet-cute where Lily strikes up a conversation with Troy outside a party, these two smart and quirky loners find their lives increasingly enmeshed.

Shown from some later vantage, the pair goes through physical photos documenting their lives, then acted out in flashbacks. We witness early dates, first declarations of love, a bat mitzvah and a funeral — and a pregnancy scare where their two disparate reactions clash.

Anyone who’s ever fallen in love, then crossed that scary threshold into that much longer hard-work stage will recognize the dance of two humans trying like hell to maintain complicated orbits of individuality within unity.

One of the most striking moments is when Lily wonders if Troy kissed her in the rain because he really wanted to in the moment, or because they’d written it on their bucket list.

It’s a bittersweet affair, and I welled up more than once watching Lily and Troy’s mundane yet universal struggles.

Well-written and surprisingly poignant, this one looks at the mathematically impossible ideals we nonetheless chase headlong into the dark.

Find your Fringe! You can read all of our reviews here.

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