What truly governs a relationship? Is it honestly a series of decisions made equally by two people thinking rationally? Altar Ego is a play about seven characters, each who views marriage, love and monogamy differently. Can any portrayal be any less true or real than any other? The first half hour of the play fills you with melancholy and fear for any future marriage or long term relationship, but the characters continue and the stories become more optimistic and raw. By the end you are left speechless, questioning every piece of knowledge of monogamy you have been taught.
Throughout the play there is laughter, it is undeniably hilarious. However there is a darkness to the script, a shadow to the laughter which prods you into curiosity. Altar Ego tackles the issue of marriage head on, in such simple, straight forward style. This is what is so consuming, you feel drawn into the world of these characters, so accurately played by (ironically) husband and wife, Melanie Lyons and Jimmy Lyons. Each world, despite lasting less than fifteen minutes is captivating and enthralling. The humour, the tone and the tense make it feel like a drunken confession of a long standing close friend.
“Who does the PR for marriage?” asks one character “It has a 55% chance of failure, if that was any other product it would have been pulled from the shelves years ago.” A resounding statement which is said earnestly, a statement which brings to light a serious question of current social standings. Why is marriage the upmost pinnacle of relationships and why do we wholeheartedly believe in it? Altar Ego leaves you with a smile on your face and a question in your throat.
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