STAGE: Do I Love You? @ Gala Theatre, Durham (11.04.25)

While Do I Love You? set out to be a heartfelt homage to Northern Soul and the communities that loved it, John Godber’s latest play didn’t quite hit the mark.

Beautifully lit and featuring a timeless soundtrack, its premise was promising – three 20-somethings brought together by their shared passion for soul music, each grappling with the familiar difficulties of boredom, deprivation and tedium in a post-covid, cost-of-living hellscape.  

But what could have been an artful and soulful celebration of working-class identity didn’t fully materialise. The characters, though well performed, lacked the depth to really persuade and convince that all three – modern day – 20 somethings could be so infected by Northern Soul. The plays use of on-the-nose dialogue (“you never see any rich people in A&E”) and many scenes of narration really contributed to this problem.  

The inclusion of so many Northern Soul tracks was mostly positive, but they and their accompanying dance numbers often felt tacked on, and at times, even redundant. And whilst the performances were committed and there were notable moments of genuine charm, the show felt like it was relying too much on nostalgia and audience participation.

It was undoubtedly a show with heart, but one that never quite found its soul.