Review: I Do, Malmaison Hotel, London

As an audience member, this gorgeously detailed, immersive pre-wedding experience reminds me of Notes from the House Spirits by Lucy Wood, where the comings and goings of human life are felt by the spirits who take up space and are never acknowledged.

I Do is an intimate and lovingly messy reimagining of an original immersive hit by the theatre company Dante or Die, where audiences are invited to be wedding guests at Tunde (Dauda Ladejobi) and Georgina’s (Carla Langley) pre wedding drama, with all the love, nerves and expectations of four generations played out in six hotel rooms. As part of the Barbican’s Scene Change Season, the live experience is set in Malmaison London, a working hotel just a ten minute walk from the Barbican Centre.

The experience was conceived and created by Daphna Attias and Terry O’Donovan, with text by Chloë Moss. Attias’ direction is meticulous and full of heart, and, as The Cleaner, O’Donovan playfully disrupts and physically binds the narrative together by moving backwards or slowly forwards through the corridors, connecting the time sequences in each room. With a fluid blend of repeated physical moves and a careful order to the chaos in every room, the form, story, and the space are set up to go.

Split into small groups, audiences move between rooms where all the classic wedding tropes are happening in tandem. Praise must go to the promenade hosts, who skilfully hold their groups together with clear instructions, allowing them to relax and enjoy the thirteen-minute encounters in each room as they navigate the six different journeys into pre-wedding chaos.

The new re-cast is stunning, and their truthful, authentic, and relatable performances all deserve a mention. I cared about their characters, too, as the impact of actions, both past and present, unravels and allows the audience to become more invested. Mental health is gently interrogated, alongside conversations around weddings, commitment, and relationships. They all wear picture-perfect wedding outfits (Jenny Hayton), recognisable in family wedding albums everywhere. Intimate exchanges are successfully played in contemporary, bright spaces: bedrooms, bathrooms, and hotel corridors.

Each room holds representations of love, from unexpected passion to long-term care. The Bridal Suite is impersonal, with its corporate swan towels and rose petals. Other rooms offer clues into the deeper emotional state of the characters who are staying there: the best man’s (Manish Gandhi) bathroom is chaos; the grandparents’ bedside cabinets are full of Gordon’s (Geoff Attwell) medication in weekly dividers, suggesting long-term care from Eileen (Fiona Watson); whilst Helen (Johanne Murdock), the Mother of the Bride, has a bedroom that is neat and tidy on the surface, though she complains about it being too hot. The booze is with the Bridesmaids (Tessie Orange-Turner and Alice Brittain); the Father of the Bride (Jonathan McGuinness), Nick (Fred Fergus), and Kitty (Ines Butler-Cope/Tessa Campbell/Eliza Hudson Kuper) roam roomless, causing emotional havoc.

With no direct addressee, the experience is emotionally intense in some rooms. There are painful and deep moments of humanity staged alongside joy, heated passion, and tenderness. Sometimes a brave audience member will sit themselves down on a bed — but the cast are unfazed, and prepared to work around an audience! My group stood behind shower screens and curtains, perched on window ledges, or sat on chairs, shelves, and dressing tables. We all leant in to discover the result of a pregnancy test, or sometimes sat in silence.

I had hoped all the characters would present themselves to us, like a wedding photograph, when they all finally meet ‘down there’. Instead, the dramatic form leaves us to piece together our own personal jigsaw of events — a messy and lovely human thing.

Created & Conceived by Daphna Attias & Terry O’Donovan
Written by Chloë Moss
Directed by Daphna Attias
Design by Jenny Hayton
Dramaturgy by Lucy Morrison
Movement direction by Ayse Tashkiran

I Do plays in London until Sunday 8 February, with futher dates in Reading and Manchester throughout February.