How Has My Love Affected You?

It’s difficult to describe Marcus Youssef’s latest play, “How has my love affected you”, in simple words. It is at times a hard to digest set of stories, sometimes with a funny twist, and having occasional (and unpredictable) ups and downs. At the end of the day, the mix of emotions reflects appropriately the subject of the play: Real life.

This work, largely a monologue by Marcus Youssef himself, focuses largely on the troublesome relationship between him and his mom throughout the years, and the ways in which it has shaped and changed his life. Marcus, in an almost therapeutic fashion, does a magnificent storytelling job to inject in the audience diverse emotions throughout his real life anecdotes and reflections.

Marcus’ crude story is greatly helped by the musical interventions by his own son, Zak, who showcases some of his musical talents throughout the 90 minute long play. Other than the music, Marcus’ monologue is accompanied by very few (but effective) special effects, which include mainly variations in the lighting and visual clues.

The show is written by Marcus Youssef and directed by Rachel Ditor. It is presented by Artsclub at the Revue Stage, on Granville Island, from February 28 to March 23, 2013.