My date cancels on me an hour before the show. It’s not a ‘romantic’ date but it’s still a reminder of how disappointing people can be. Still, I settle in for an hour of romance, albeit with a bee in my bonnet. Then when the lights dim and Cupid (Matt Powell) comes on, I realise this is just so Wellington: this place is such a terrarium for people looking for love.

And you know what else is incredibly Wellington? Falling in love twice during a piece of theatre at Bats. First, with the vibrant Polish actress sitting a socially distanced one seat across from me who is so charming and so open with her story before the play begins, and then with the formidable Nina Hogg who plays a very loveable Jojo to Alayne Dick’s adorb Nikki.

Within just a few minutes, I’m no longer angry at my friend for bailing because I lose myself in the meet-cute happening between two beauties on stage. Oh, did I mention this is improv? True story, and with veteran improv queen Hogg on the stage, you know you’re in for a treat (Hogg is the executive for both Mmmpop Improv and the Victoria University Theatre Society – she’s also the youngest performer of PlayShop Wellington).

Nikki and Jojo take us on a roller coaster ride of the awkwardness and awfulness of dating. Are they really unlikely lovers? Not to this audience who swoons at every brush of a hand on a knee, and giggles at each attempt to flirt. The actors have chemistry, and while Cupid might help the two of them fall in love (at least for tonight), the audience needs no help at falling in love with them.  

Originally performed as an entry by the Rom-Comrades in the improv competition Late Night Knife Fight, this is the premiere of their full-length show, and it’s for the lovesick and lovelorn, and anyone in between.

Funnily enough, when Cupid asks the crowd if anyone here is looking for love, no one puts their hand up. The rest of Cupid’s questions fall short as well, as I’m not sure if everyone understands that this is improv – a warning at the beginning might be helpful. Is is a “guide” to romance? Hmm, not really. There are some tricks, like 1. Don’t go to a bar on a first date. Instead, do an activity together (and New Zealand, going to a bar is not an activity). And 2. Take a leap of faith when it comes to matters of the heart. At the end of the show, you probably won’t have figured out how this love thing actually works, and that’s fine.

My fave part is where the women read each other lists of their quirks, weirdnesses and fears. They do this on the waterfront and while I think it might be cringey to see in real life, I also feel like it would be incredibly brave to list one’s defects at the beginning of a relationship. I make a note to do it in my next one. There are 6 tickets left for Saturday night’s show, and I suggest you go solo instead of coupled up, because you never know who you might meet. Right, Eva?

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