Can (online) dating be used as a tool to combat political polarization? In Swiping Right, Sophie Anna Veelenturf examines what happens when political opposites meet in intimate situations. How does ideology influence our dating, desires and relationships? How do political divides impact the way in which we compromise between attraction and resistance? Based on her own experience of doomed dates with right-wing, conservative men, Sophie Anna, a self-proclaimed ‘leftie’, brings her own personal quest to the stage.

With humour and sharp dialogue, she brings to the stage theatrical re-enactments of the interviews she conducted, not just with her dates, but also with politically mixed couples and academics of all political persuasions. The result is a fascinating blend of ideology and intimacy, in which Sophie Anna flirts with stand-up and documentary theatre. In an uncompromising yet vulnerable way, she explores the boundaries between love and politics. In doing so, she holds up a mirror to the audience and asks the burning question: do opposites really attract?

This first creation with BERLIN builds on Veelenturfs acclaimed master’s thesis, Linkse Gaatjes. 

[Swiping Right] raises spiky questions about the tricky business of getting along. […] Sophie Anna Veelenturf takes a nuanced personal look at how apps can prevent us falling for those whose politics we deplore. – The Guardian