An intriguing premise lies at the heart of Island Tides, presented by Young Actors Theatre Islington: a high-profile divorce lawyer, June (Chia-Yi Chan), has been invited to take part in a televised debate concerning the fate of Mr and Mrs Smith, a married couple who are unable to decide whether they should divorce or remain together.
June’s opponent is a male intimacy consultant, whose name I am sadly unable to cite, who takes the opposing view and argues that the couple should stay together. The concept is immediately engaging, not least because the audience is not merely there to watch the debate unfold. We are invited to become part of the decision-making process ourselves, with the opportunity to vote on whether Mr and Mrs Smith should divorce or attempt to save their marriage.
It is not long before June and the intimacy consultant makes it abundantly clear that they do not like each other. Their exchanges are increasingly heated, with both arguing aggressively and seemingly unable to agree on almost anything. Ironically, the one thing they do appear to agree upon is that they are spectacularly incapable of communicating with one another – a problem that mirrors the difficulties faced by Mr and Mrs Smith.
A creative and theatrical element was the transformation of the back wall into a screen. This added an interesting visual dimension to the production and provided the means by which we were introduced more directly to Mr and Mrs Smith, played by Iacopo Farusi and Pauline Chabosseau respectively.
The screen also gave the production an appropriately televised feel, reinforcing the idea that we were watching a debate as much as a conventional piece of theatre. Unfortunately, the subtitles, which I did not personally require, but which would presumably have been useful to some audience members, became distorted towards the bottom of the screen and were consequently difficult to read. This was particularly unfortunate in a production so reliant on dialogue and communication.
As the story of Mr and Mrs Smith emerges, it becomes clear that their relationship is considerably more troubled than the initial premise might suggest. We had already been told that Mr Smith had been saying unkind things to his wife, and it soon became apparent that he was the one who had initiated divorce proceedings, much to Mrs Smith’s considerable chagrin. Perhaps surprisingly, the couple had not been married for very long, yet in that relatively short period they had already endured an extraordinary amount of trauma.
The production also introduces some unusual, and rather formidable conditions for the audience to consider. If the couple were to divorce and subsequently realise that they had made a terrible mistake, they would be unable to remarry. Conversely, if they were deemed to remain together and work on their marriage for as long as necessary, they would never be able to divorce. That particular caveat was the deciding factor for me.
Sadly, I found myself in the minority and therefore on the losing side – although one has to wonder whether anyone really wins in a divorce case.
Overall, Island Tides is an enjoyable and entertaining production, combining relationship drama, humour and audience participation in an engaging way. Its unusual premise gives the audience plenty to consider, while the interactive voting adds an extra layer of involvement that makes the experience feel more immediate than simply watching events unfold.
It also left me feeling rather grateful that, as far as I am aware, divorce has not yet become reality TV. Although, given the direction of television these days, perhaps it is only a matter of time…
Review by Bernadette Lintunen
Island Tides is a new writing and devised interactive theatre experience staged as a live televised debate. Accompanied by hypnotic, pulse-driven music, the performance centres on a courtroom-style confrontation between a female divorce lawyer and a male intimacy consultant. As their opposing views clash, questions of love, gender, identity and belonging emerge, leading into a deeper exploration of autonomy.
June – Chia-Yi Chan
Ian – Daniel Popescu
Written and directed by Jay Yu-chieh Chiu
ISLAND TIDES
Young Actors Theatre Islington, 29 and 30 August 2026
Presented as part of The Camden Fringe
