The Hayes Theatre, Sydney
November 28, 2018

According to the opening number in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1989 musical Aspects of Love, “love changes everything.” This is especially true if that love is a deeply unsettling attraction you feel for an old flame’s 15-year-old daughter, who – spoiler alert – is also your cousin. Even without this creepy romance (which spans much of the musical’s ponderous second act), the meandering plot, vapid lyrics and work-in-progress title of Aspects of Love offer little to warrant a revival. That said, this production by Andrew J. Bevis for the Hayes – aided by a solid cast and some great singing – does a lot with the little that Lloyd Webber’s book (adapted from the novella by David Garnett) and Don Black and Charles Hart’s lyrics have to offer.

Caitlin Berry and Jonathan Hickey in Aspects of Love at the Hayes Theatre. Photo © David Hooley

Bevis sets the production in an abandoned theatre, whose ghost light evokes the ghosts of past loves that gently haunt the characters and locales throughout the show. Steven Smith’s clever set design – lit evocatively by John Rayment – dissolves between scenes, allowing Bevis to...