I was really interested when I heard about ‘Loop’, written and performed by the talented Tanya-Loretta Dee, and headed for a run at Theatre503 this month. 

The play looks at a relationship between a man and a woman – one that veers into fantasy and obsession – and explores the state of ‘limerence’, the experience of being involuntarily infatuated or obsessed with someone who may or may not return those feelings. 

To find out more about the play, and the creative behind it, I arranged a chat with Tanya-Loretta ahead of opening night. 

CM: Can you start by telling us about what happens in ‘Loop’? Who is it about and where does the narrative take us?
T-LD: ‘Loop’ follows Bex, a woman working in a party shop in Peckham who falls into a relationship with a man. What begins as flirtation spirals into fantasy, compulsion and loss of self.

It’s a story that moves between the real and the imagined – texts, voice notes and memory blur into fairytale. By the end of the story Bex begins to face the deeper roots of her obsession, though the final message suggests the cycle may never truly end.

CM: What themes are explored through the play?
T-LD: The play explores limerence, obsession, fantasy – that line between love and addiction. It also looks at inheritance, and the link between shame, desire and validation. 

I really wanted to explore the fight between what is reality and what the mind perceives as reality. How can we start to find safety in ourselves? What does unravelling look like before the healing starts?

CM: How would you define it in terms of style or genre?
T-LD: It’s a psychological drama with elements of dark comedy, horror and myth. The world constantly shifts from hyper-real scenes to surreal transformations and storybook imagery.

I think of it as a modern fairytale about obsession, performed through one woman’s body and imagination. The tone moves from funny to grotesque, from heartbreak to something mythic.

CM: What was the inspiration for the play? Where did your ideas come from?
T-LD: It started with a question: why do we become consumed by certain people? I became fascinated by limerence and romantic obsession in stories, and how it mirrors addiction, ritual, even religious devotion.

I was reading ‘The Red Shoes’ and thinking about how women’s desires are often pathologised or punished. So ‘Loop’ became a way to explore that through one voice, a woman haunted by her own imagination, and to show how fantasy can both destroy and heal us.

As well as researching limerence, both in scientific form and in folk tales/fairy tales and mythology, I interviewed women about their experiences of limerence.

The play is very much inspired by a woman who lived in Brighton, and based on her experiences, as well as my own past experiences of limerence around fourteen years ago.

I also think someone experienced limerence towards me in the last few years, so I have been on both sides. It’s an interesting topic and one that is being discussed more and more.

CM: How did your creative process work? Devising? Sitting down writing? A secret third thing?
T-LD: A secret third thing! ‘Loop’ began as voice notes and improvisations, fragments I’d record in character, then shape into text.

It’s been a blend of writing, embodiment and testing things aloud. I built the script through instinct first, rhythm, tone, the physicality of Bex’s voice, and only later did the dramaturgy come in. 

The process has felt very collaborative! Sophie Ellerby, Jess Edwards, Anthony Simpson-Pike and Steve Harper have been phenomenal.

We also had a brilliant R&D process which helped with developing the piece. Mainly listening to the voice of the woman in Brighton and using her as a creative anchor. She has been a huge part of the creative process.

CM: Did you always plan to perform it yourself? What’s it like working alone, how does it compare to being part of a cast?
T-LD: Yes, I knew from the start I wanted to perform it.

The material is so intimate and confessional that it needs to be channelled through the body that wrote it – there are also some very explicit moments in ‘Loop’ – I’m not sure I could get another actor to perform it until I did it first!

Performing solo is intense, there’s nowhere to hide, no one to feed you except yourself, but it’s also liberating. You’re in constant dialogue with the audience; every breath becomes part of the storytelling.

Compared to ensemble work, it’s more exposing but also more truthful. You can’t fake anything.

CM: Can you tell us a bit about yourself now? How did you come to be pursuing a creative career? What made you want it?
T-LD: I have always wanted to be an actor! I trained as an actor and I’ve always been drawn to work that feels visceral, poetic and psychologically honest. 

Acting led me to writing. I wanted to create stories that gave women space to be complex, contradictory and unapologetic. For me, performing and writing come from a similar impulse: to transform experience into something alive, something that might resonate with someone else.

I have also lived all over the UK, and every city, town, place I’ve lived has always been an inspiration for me to continue as an artist. I can’t imagine doing anything else. Although I am training to be a psychotherapist alongside my acting!

CM: What have been the highlights of your working life thus far?
T-LD: Playing Angie in Tom Wells’ ‘Big Big Sky’ was a big one, such a beautiful, heart-led play. The movement director from the show is also the movement director for ‘Loop’.

Creating ‘Loop’ from a solo idea into a fully funded three-week run at Theatre503 has been a huge journey. I’ve also had brilliant moments collaborating with other artists, the kind of rooms where you can be raw, funny and fearless all at once.

I will also say being in ‘Peaky Blinders’ season six was a massive highlight as I’m a massive fan of the show. As well as working with the legend that is Sir Alan Ayckbourn on five of his plays.

CM: What aims and ambitions do you have for the future?
T-LD: Just to stay focused, keep writing and performing new writing, and keep working with brilliant, risky artists with bold voices! I love the messy, beautiful truth of being human and to keep exploring that in all of my creative work would be a dream.

CM: What’s coming up next for you after this?
T-LD: After ‘Loop’, I’m developing a new play, working with the Royal Court on their new writer scheme and I’m also very sure I’ll be in another play soon. Also planning a massive holiday!

‘Loop’ is on at Theatre503 from 10-29 Nov, see the venue website here for all the info and to book. 

LINKS: theatre503.com | instagram.com/tanyalorettadee