Hidden Connections – The Portrayal of True Love

Do you recall the wager in the film ‘Shakespeare In Love?’ Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) persuades the Earl of Wessex (Colin Firth) to bet £50 that a play cannot capture the nature of true love? Queen Elizabeth I (Judy Dench) bears witness to the wager and later, after attending the opening performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ forces Wessex to pay up; Shakespeare has indeed captured the nature of true love.

“Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy,

asleep and awake- it's everything except what it is!”

 (Act 1, scene 1)

My first experience of seeing the ballet ‘Manon,’ at a live-streaming at the cinema, brought that wager powerfully to mind. Watching the heart-rending final scene between the lovers Manon and Des Grieux, I was overwhelmed by the exquisite pain of witnessing a portrayal of the nature of true love, in all its ecstasy and agony; its sheer gut-wrenching, intoxicating beauty.

For my birthday this year, we saw the Royal Ballet perform ‘Manon’ at Covent Garden, with Marienela Nunez in the title role. She is a consummate ballerina; her seemingly effortless technical mastery is eclipsed by the astonishing power of expression emanating from her whole body. Once again, I was reminded of the wager: can a play or any artistic genre, portray the nature of true love?

Yes, emphatically yes!

If you’ve seen an inspiring portrayal of true love, please share…