A fresh take on heartbreak, this two-hander tackles that mainstay of cultural expression with everything from breakup songs to insights about what brains and bodies go through when relationships end.

Heartbreak Hotel is the creation of Wellington theatre company EBKM’s co-directors: Karin McCracken writes and performs, and Eleanor Bishop directs.

Evidently audiences are embracing their thoughtfully constructed 75-minute theatrical patchwork. It’s toured internationally from London to New York and, after making its Australian debut last year at Rising festival, returns to Arts Centre Melbourne but in a larger theatre.

Karin McCracken and Simon Leary in Heartbreak Hotel. Photo © Andi Crown Photography

Presented before LED panels displaying scrolling text or chunky abstract designs, Heartbreak Hotel offers a series of vignettes. We first meet McCracken’s unnamed character six months after a relationship has ended, then drop into her life of enduring heartache across several years.

There are also flashbacks to the breakup, which are enriched by breadcrumbs dropped with restraint through the text. Simon Leary interprets numerous male characters, including the ex who remains the protagonist’s best friend.

There’s plenty going on between...