Tell me three positive glimmers about your day. If you can’t think of any, that’s okay, as this often requires discipline. Most of us have ordinary lives and live ordinary days, yet Trent Dalton’s story highlights love is for the ordinary and those ordinary moments is where we can feel the most extraordinary.
His book was written on a busy street corner of Brisbane CBD with a sky-blue 1960’s Olivetti Typewriter. Packed with a stellar cast, the love stories of everyday Aussies have come to life, highlighting that the best love stories are not written for screens, they are told.
Even before the show starts, messages of love are shared for the audience to read whilst a few love song hits are played in the background. Honesty and self-reflection are at the forefront of this performance, cutting back the ruthless tracks of life and finding hope to change the wicked flaws and habits of being human.
The blatant realities of marriage were explored where life becomes mundane and there are desperate attempts to crawl back to those beginning moments of when they first fell.
Produced by the same team as Boy Swallows Universe, Dalton’s best-selling book is now a performance, provoked by one simple question “Can you please tell me your love story?” Told through a deeply personal lens of strangers with one common thread of how love has affected their lives.
It gives each voice a platform to share their unique experience through the highs and tragedies of their love. It was captivating to watch how all of the stories were intertwined together into an hour and 40 minutes with never a dull moment, allowing for an engaging performance.
The performance was entertaining with the use of multimedia to heighten the impact along with a few musical numbers such as the hilarious flash mob. As quoted in the play “People always want to talk but not everybody wants to listen” really captures the very purpose of the performance.
This was deepened with camera angles following and tracking adding depth and full disparity. They were forced to be vulnerable sharing layers of emotion with the camera only making things even more revealing. Not only did Dalton want us to listen he wanted us to feel the very essence of the stories told.
From scientists to musicians, everybody had their story to tell, bringing a fresh take on the common thread of how love has affected their lives. Every story was genuine and realistic, even Dalton’s own love story alternated the idealism of love contrasting with realities of marriage, causing him to self-reflect.
It was relatable for everyone, touching on all kinds of relationship structures and endings with each story doing it’s best to explain the unexplainable.
There was no doubt the audience was immersed to the very end as it was full of creative details, adding variety. From the choreography to the acting, the performance was emotionally charged, we are left in a pit of self-reflection and hope that our story is also worth telling.
As the show grapples with the question of “What is love?” – it can be concluded that there are no correct answers, instead it can be messy and complex and not as we imagined, but somehow a beautiful and extraordinary experience.
Trent Dalton’s Love Stories
Riverside Theatre, Corner Church and Market Streets, Parramatta
Performance: Friday 12 September 2025
Season continues to 20 September 2025
Bookings: www.riversideparramatta.com.au
Following the Parramatta season, Trent Dalton’s Love Stories will play the Canberra Theatre Centre (24 – 27 September), Darwin Entertainment Centre (2 – 4 October) and HOTA Gold Coast (9 – 11 October).
Images: The Cast of Trent Dalton’s Love Stories – photos by David Kelly
Review: Alexa Hafner Keelan