Girls & Boys, by Dennis Kelly [Auckland Theatre Co]

The pulse-pounding West End sensation with a tour-de-force performance by the brilliant Beatriz Romilly.

“I met my husband in the queue to board an easyJet flight and I have to say I took an instant dislike to the man.”

It begins with a chance encounter at an airport in Naples. How it ends will make you question whether it's ever possible to truly know the people we love.

This shattering, passionate solo drama by Tony Award-winning British playwright Dennis Kelly (Matilda The Musical) has gripped audiences in London and New York with its provocative take on gender politics as a family unravels at the seams.

From starring on London’s West End to Auckland Theatre Company’s stage, Beatriz Romilly (King Lear, Grand Horizons) takes on the funny, gutsy, messy woman who falls head over heels for a sexy, charismatic man who imports European antiques.

At first, they can’t get enough of each other. “Our love was intense. Actually, it was insane.” But, as the heat of their passion gives way to the banalities of domestic life, her star continues to rise while his starts to fade.

As her story unfolds, from being madly in love, through frazzled interactions with her two squabbling kids, to confessional moments of heartbreaking intimacy, what went wrong with their relationship is slowly revealed. Raw and unflinching, Girls & Boys explores the dark shadow on the far side of love and asks what anyone of us is capable of.