Following rave reviews (including 4-stars and “a saucy gem” tag line from us) and sell-out shows, Lovers From Hell returns to the Oval Theatre for a new helping of four plays about people in extreme states of erotic and sexual confusion.

For your first course there’s Complex and Get The Guest, two kinky comedies of perverse desire, and then after the interval it’s time for The Smell of Asparagus Pee, Shaun Levin's wonderfully dark, poetic portrait of an abandoned lover. And finally, the evening rounds off with a brand-new ‘playlet’ called Donut, about a man who tries to persuade his neurotic, perfect-bodied boyfriend to eat a jam donut while they’re having sex!

We caught up with Robert Farrar, the show’s writer and director, to find out more, and discover if he’s ever had a lover from hell…

After a successful run last year, Lovers From Hell is returning to a bigger theatre. What’s it like to be back?
As Exciting and terrifying as ever but the Oval House is a very supportive environment to work in.

Were you overwhelmed by the response to the plays at their first outing?
I was overwhelmed by everything! Live theatre is a white-knuckle ride.

One act drams are often very hard to sell and programme. What made Lovers From Hell work?
Well, I took the title from Kevin Bentley's anthology Boyfriends From Hell, which was where The Smell of Asparagus Pee first appeared as a story. You need a title everyone can relate to.  Also, there is a great hunger for quality gay-themed work, work that talks directly to gay people without just being about gay-ghetto concerns.

Lovers From Hell actually contains one heterosexual story, Complex, but it definitely comes into the category of ‘queer’, because the woman's sexual agenda is so outrageous. I was happy to find that lesbians love this piece. So that's how we sold it: quality, queer, unusual.

To mark the move to a bigger space, you’ve added a new playlet to the bill. What can we expect?
Donut is a 10-minute piece about a guy trying to persuade his boyfriend to eat a donut while they're having sex. His boyfriend is one of those body-obsessed people who are terrified of losing his perfect figure. It's the most risqué piece of the evening and I think it's going to be very sexy. It's also the sweetest piece, the only one in which there is a feeling of successful connection. That's why we popped it in at the end, like an after dinner sweetie.

The photos for Donut are very sexy. Did you have great fun at the shoot?
Yes, but some of it wasn't sexy. Like when poor Daniel Higley was spitting out donuts after each shot so as not to throw up!

In fact, all the publicity has been rather tempting. So you’re aware that sex sells then?
Sex does sell, but there are good and bad ways of working with that. Our publicity has been sexy but also dramatic and a little bit surreal. I have tried to create images that imply storytelling, which is what it's all about.

The four plays that make up Lovers From Hell are described as being about "people in extreme states of erotic and sexual confusion." Are you talking from personal experience? Or did you have to undertake lots of research?
Actually, I was in a fairly extreme state last year but writing my own two plays, Complex and Get The Guest which are dark comedies helped me to pull myself together.

The really extreme piece is The Smell Of Asparagus Pee, which is Shaun's work. I chose it because it reflected some of what I was feeling. But personally I could never write something a raw as that. This is what makes Shaun a brilliant writer: he can go to extreme places and yet retain a great sense of humanity.

What is it that initially drew you to the sexual subject matter?
All my writing has been obsessed with sex and relationships since forever. In a way it's embarrassing, because it must be obvious to other people by now that I've got unresolved issues around this area. I do sometimes have moments when I relax and write about other things, but they're few and far between.  

So, does being aroused and confused make for the best sexual experience?
Actually, I think confusion is a very creative space, and maybe it does make things hotter. Ambivalence can be a very crucial part of arousal. For example, someone thinks, "Hm, I think I'll be a slut tonight." That's ambivalence. Because you're saying you want something but you're also judging yourself. But there's a limit. I suspect that in the end the best sex comes from a feeling of connection. I think that's what Lovers From Hell is about: Can you connect or not?

You’ve written and directed some of the plays. How have you overcome the difficulties of staging your own work?
I adapted The Smell of Asparagus Pee for the stage (from Shaun's short story) and this is the one I directed. It didn't feel like directing my own work at all.

The other pieces, which I did write, have all been directed by Phil Setren. It's much healthier to have someone else come in and direct your plays. Phil was able to come in with a fresh view and add new layers of meaning and comedy. Phil is the unseen genius behind Lovers From Hell. Without him it wouldn't have worked at all.

Did the rehearsal process, audience response, or indeed this revival, force any mayor re-writes?
No major re-writes, no. Phil created and ran the London New Play Festival for many years and he's very protective of new work.

What would you like audiences to take with them after having seen the show?
The show is exciting, surprising, touching and a little bit shocking. I would hope that it leaves audiences feeling buzzy and connected.

Complex and Asparagus Pee are both a bit disturbing in parts. They challenge an audience's beliefs about what is normal, what can be related to. I think that's very enriching. The other thing audiences will take away is the memory of some sensational performances.

Have you ever had a lover from hell?
Actually, the most hellish encounter I've had in recent years was someone I turned down! 

And finally, what's next for Robert Farrar?
I rather fancy writing a TV show right now. Writing one-act plays has given me a taste for that 30-minute slot. But I'll take any gig that pays.

Read our review of the first production of Lovers From Hell, which premiered at the Oval House in December 2004.

Lovers From Hell, by Robert Farrar and Shaun Levin
Oval House Theatre
52-54 Kennington Oval
London, SE11 5SW
020 7582 7680

23 February-19 March 2005; Weds-Sat at 7.45pm

Buy Kevin Bentley's anthology, Boyfriends From Hell online and read for yourself the inspiration behind Lovers From Hell. While you’re there, why not buy Shaun Levin’s book, Seven Sweet Things: A Novella with Recipes.