A handful of patrons – in this instance six people, comprising three pairs – converge at the Giftgiver Collection Point, either the Basement or Q depending on the day of the week.  Toting his orange heart-shaped umbrella – a fortuitous prop given the sudden downpour that occurs just prior to our setting out – co-ordinator and event creator John Burrows briefs our small group on the whimsically imperative task before us and provides the necessary means to implement it effectively. 

Given a choice of taking separate tasks in two groups or all working together, our crew opts for the latter.  Although not having tried the alternative, we subsequently agree it’s surely the better way to go.  With parcels in hand and a smartphone connection to our client drip-feeding instructions, our newly assembled team of dedicated Cupids embarks on an upbeat odyssey to exact the wishes of said amorous customer.

Unconventional a delivery run as it is, I can only imagine how bizarrely familiar this may seem for anyone who is or has been actually employed as a courier; I’ve never before attended a performance that genuinely feels so much like going to work as this does.  Not in any mundane rat-race way – quite the opposite; it’s a gainful occupation in which the intrepid field-staff bond on the job and delight in helping connect two united souls separated by the tyranny of distance.

There’s little more I can say to describe the beguilingly authentic adventure without spoiling it for future participants. The crux of the creative concept reflects on the nature and possibility of long-distance relationships, and plays out as a direct interactive experience in facilitating the joyous companionship of young lovers. 

Cynical misanthropists need not apply, unless you’re willing to let go of your pessimistic ideology to let yourself dream again … Most cynics are simply thwarted romantics, after all. 

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