Review: Steve & Steff Forever
Theatre has taken to the streets of Bury St Edmunds this Summer!
Steve and Steff Forever is the latest offering from the Theatre Royal telling a love story at various locations in the town as the audience follows the actors around Bury St Edmunds in a promenade performance.
Steve and Steff meet and fall in love. It’s a relationship that on paper really shouldn’t work. Steve works in insurance comes from a family that has high ambitions for him. He doesn’t like surprises, he like to be organised and to plan, Steve is one of life’s planners… Steff on the other hand is carefree and impulsive. She works a waitress and refers to herself as “a bubble on the breeze”.
This unlikely coupling meet one Summers evening and the sparks start to fly. But will this blossoming romance stand the test of time?
Promenade performances are a great way to enjoy theatre and this production certainly doesn’t disappoint. The audience were handed their headphones at the beginning of the evening and given instructions from the Guides as to when to follow and when to remain stationary and off we went, music playing in our ears.
At our first stop, we meet Steve sitting outside a café waiting for his date to arrive. Steff is working in the café and comes out to take his order and they meet for the first time…
This production is brilliantly put together there is so much thought for the audience experience and it’s just fabulous. With the actor’s voices in your ears, you watch the action through shop window, in doorways and restaurants, it really gives that ‘fly on the wall’ feeling as you watch a new romance in the making. Opposites attract and that’s really true for Steve and Steff!
Joshua Diffley makes for a perfectly cast Steve, portraying the awkwardness of the character well. Anna Soden as carefree Steff is fabulous and the pair work brilliantly together.
A special mention to the Theatre Royal Volunteer Stewards, they kept the audience together, arriving at each location on time to watch the action, ensuring everybody could see what was happening. This is no mean feat when the audience members are all wearing headphone and listening to the production.
Steve and Steff Forever is a night at the theatre that won’t be forgotten for some time. A brilliant love story told by talented actors (how they stayed in character when there was a noisy bunch of revellers heading their way is anyone’s guess but they did it brilliantly), in a very unique way. This production just works on every level and makes for a very enjoyable immersive theatre experience.
This really is a must see, so head to Bury St Edmunds this summer collect your headphones and let Steve and Steff take you on a journey around this beautiful town.
Steve and Steff Forever is on until the 30th August. To book tickets visit wwwtheatreroyal.org
Review: Wendy Cook, Ipswich24 Magazine.