Love All

by Lojo Simon

After 14 years of marriage, John Smyth reveals a secret: he is not the man his wife, Mary, thinks he is. He is not even John Smyth, but rather Burton Beverly, a man from thousands of miles away who faked his suicide in order to punish his former lover. LOVE ALL dances between time and place to explore how John Smyth came to be, how Mary came to fall in love with him, and how their son, Ben, comes to deal with...

After 14 years of marriage, John Smyth reveals a secret: he is not the man his wife, Mary, thinks he is. He is not even John Smyth, but rather Burton Beverly, a man from thousands of miles away who faked his suicide in order to punish his former lover. LOVE ALL dances between time and place to explore how John Smyth came to be, how Mary came to fall in love with him, and how their son, Ben, comes to deal with the fallout of this shocking news. Deception, memory and inquiry intertwine in this story of memory and forgetting as a family tries to stitch itself together after the life they know has come apart.

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Love All

Recommended by

  • Samantha Marchant: Love All by Lojo Simon
    “

    A play of memory, deceit, truth, and destiny. The green flash is great - Gatsby vibes.

    A play of memory, deceit, truth, and destiny. The green flash is great - Gatsby vibes.

    ”
  • Cheryl Bear: Love All by Lojo Simon
    “

    Do you know who your husband is? A fascinating journey that takes us behind the making of the man John Smyth and now his family has to grapple with this information. Powerful and well done.

    Do you know who your husband is? A fascinating journey that takes us behind the making of the man John Smyth and now his family has to grapple with this information. Powerful and well done.

    ”
  • Jonathan Luskin: Love All by Lojo Simon
    “

    "Love All" is a great read. Lojo smoothly shifts the story forwards and backwards through time, revealing all the elements that ignite this tale of love, revelation, and family struggle. It's a story that stuck with me long after reading it.

    "Love All" is a great read. Lojo smoothly shifts the story forwards and backwards through time, revealing all the elements that ignite this tale of love, revelation, and family struggle. It's a story that stuck with me long after reading it.

    ”
View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

JOHN SMYTH, ages forward from 30s to 60s, cerebral, fit, pleasing to the eye, but not the kind of handsome that bolsters self-confidence
MARY, his wife, ages forward from 20 to 50s, has a lightness about her, it would be great if she reminded you of Katharine Ross
BEN, their son, ages backwards from 37 to 6, should be played by an actor who is younger than the other two, perhaps in his late 20s or early-to-mid-30s

  • John Smyth
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • Mary Smyth
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Ben Smyth
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male

Development History

  • Workshop, OC-centric New Play Festival, Orange, CA, 2016

Awards