Stage Play Review: “Love on the Ropes” Packs a Punch With Love, Lies, and Livestreams

You know when a stage production is good when its two cast members are able to capture and hold your attention for 2 hours without you even noticing it. That’s exactly what Uncle Ebo Whyte and the Roverman Productions crew have achieved once again with their second quarter play for 2025, “Love on the Ropes.”

Set in the backyard of a glamorous home, this play tells the very modern story of a marriage that has hit the rocks in private but is still considered “goals” by the rest of the world. It’s bold, witty, and honest, and it hits hard in all the right places.

The story follows Don, a retired boxing champion turned politician with more secrets than he knows what to do with. He’s a man who has experienced difficult times but still maintains a positive outlook on life and love. He reluctantly gets dragged into revisiting the past when his wife drags him into being on a live-streamed ‘tell-it-all’ interview in front of her massive online following and loyal podcast army, ‘Ish Nation’ to highlight their 18th wedding anniversary.

Aisha believes this interview could go viral and push her brand to new heights. But beneath her influencer confidence is a woman wrestling with her own doubts, insecurities and the need to keep up an appearance. She wants answers, but the bigger question is — is she ready to not only tell it all but show it all too?

What starts off as another curated attempt to show off her ‘happy’ marriage quickly begins to unravel. The cracks start showing, and before long, Don gets cornered and unable to dodge anymore, begins revealing secrets he has held close to his chest for years. Secrets that not only shake Aisha but threaten to completely destroy what’s left of their union. Several years of betrayal and unresolved pain spill into the live stream, threatening to expose what their private lives look like in contrast to the public performance that Aisha leads.

“Love on the Ropes” then becomes a compelling commentary on our obsession with social media perfection. We live in a time where many relationships seem to thrive more online than in real life. And this play doesn’t hold back in asking us to confront that truth. The message is clear, love can’t be measured in likes, followers, or filters. And the more we seek validation from the outside, the more we risk losing sight of what really matters on the inside.

Playwright Ebo Whyte skillfully grounds this drama with characters who feel very real. Through clever dialogue and interactions within the first hour, we quickly learn about Don and Aisha’s backstories. Their careers, their successes, how they met, and the early spark that brought them together. One particularly gripping revelation involves how Don’s political career ended. It’s a well-timed reveal that adds another layer of weight to the emotional blows being exchanged between the couple and ultimately ties into the reasons why their marriage has begun to crumble.

The stage design aesthetically captures the couple’s backyard, which reflects their elegance and their appreciation for fine things. But this place of affluence and comfort becomes the emotional battlefield where their marriage starts to spiral.

The actors on the stage bring so much life to the characters Don and Aisha. Showcasing a vast range of emotions that equally entertain and play on your emotions. Also, as typical of Roverman productions, the music choices are spot on and accentuate the depths of the narrative.

Another thing that can’t go unmentioned is one of the most creative aspects of the play and how it integrates the audience into Aisha’s world. At several points, the audience is made to feel like part of Ish Nation, her social media fanbase. The simulated livestream format, though not perfectly executed, added an immersive quality that pulled us deeper into the drama. The effort to blend theatre with the digital age is bold, and it works. The crowd’s participation, in particular, heightened the tension and made us feel like we were witnesses to something painfully intimate.

But at its core, this is a play about love, honesty, and the hard work it takes to keep a relationship alive. It’s about the importance of communication, the willingness to listen, and the courage to own up to one’s mistakes. It also serves as a sobering reminder that strength in love isn’t just about staying together, but also about being humble enough to show remorse when we hurt the people we care about.

‘Love on the Ropes‘ is undoubtedly funny, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking all at once. It holds a mirror up to our modern lives and dares us to ask. Is our love just another performance, or are we truly living it?

I will score this play 4 out of 5 stars.

If you missed ‘Love on the Ropes‘ this past weekend, don’t worry, you can catch it again at the National Theatre on July 4th, 5th, and 6th. Available showtimes are in the artwork attached. Don’t miss it. This one deserves to be seen live.