Play Review: ‘I Meant What I Said’ at Teatro Live

Teatro Live debuted I Meant What I Said, written and directed by Stewart Lemoine, their co-founder and resident playwright. And they couldn’t have hoped for a better launch of this play. The play is wacky and whimsical, full of bright characters that draw you in before hitting the audience with something more emotional and reflective.

It’s Dinah’s (Bella King) 30th birthday and she’s trying not to spiral about what turning 30 means. So naturally, she makes new friends, finds some old ones, and takes off on a chaotic adventure. Much of the play in Dinah’s inner thoughts and imagination brought to life, and it isn’t always clear how much is real and how much is fiction. 

King played Dinah spectacularly. Her energy and ability to capture the audience’s attention shone through. And it was no easy feat — there was barely a moment when she wasn’t onstage for the 80-minute run time. She carried the narrative through the scenes with other characters and her Fleabag-like inner monologue moments.

The characters held their own too. Juris (Eli Yaschuk), the Latvian waiter turned Dinah’s pal, wormed his way into my heart. Yaschuk’s acting was fantastic, light and funny when it needed to be, but capturing the emotion of a dramatic scene without pause. 

Helen (Jayce Mckenzie) and Alex (Sam Free) grew on me. Helen was stiff and brash in the beginning, but slowly softened and warmed. Alex gradually came to be more than just a figment of Dinah’s imagination, though he remained less interesting than the others. 

The Oddball (Nida Vanderham) can’t go unmentioned either. She switched from the mistress/flight attendant to a Swiss mountaineer to a human pylon with ease and mastery.

The set captures the whimsy of the play, with planets hanging above the stage and a collection of picture frames as the backdrop. The frames were used to bring the inner thoughts of some of the characters to life, showing Latvia in Juris’ recollection and the Swiss Alps as the group travelled.

Most of the play — including the set and tech — was bright and lighthearted, but the actors dropped breadcrumbs of something more serious throughout. In the end, it all came back down to Earth in the bittersweet reality of Dinah’s life. But more than that, it grounded the entire play in hopefulness. Even if you can’t teleport to the Swiss Alps, there’s still plenty to appreciate about real life.

I Meant What I Said is a home-grown play you won’t want to miss. From the performances to the tech, it comes together to be a memorable, beautiful play.

I Meant What I Said is playing at Teatro Live until March 8.