If the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “lovestruck” is mind-crushing terror on a vast cosmic scale, you may have some emotional issues.

Or you may be the perfect target audience for Lovestruck: A Romantic Comedy Set in the Horrific World of H.P. Lovecraft.

“I thought, isn’t it silly that he writes horror stories, but his name is Lovecraft?” asks Andrey Summers, writer and director of the play’s current incarnation onstage at UBC’s Dorothy Somerset Studio. Despite the verbal similarities, the connection between romantic comedy and the works of H.P. Lovecraft might not be immediately apparent.

Lovecraft’s fiction is known as much for its pessimistic view of humanity’s place in the universe as for the description-defying monsters that inhabit it. It’s a stance that defied the Christian mindset of its day as much as it does the humanism of the modern era. So what makes this sobering vision of reality a hotbed for romantic foibles?

“It’s a satire of the ridiculousness of life and the things that we care about,” says Summers. “And whereas Lovecraft says, in his stories, that these things are meaningless and trivial, Lovestruck says they’re meaning[ful] and trivial—but that’s funny.”

Set during the Great Depression, Lovestruck tells the story of Victor Crancy (played by Chris Schonfeldt), an obsessive scholar of ancient history, and the attempts of Tammy Lancaster (played by Jessica Lewthwaite), a small-town flower girl, to woo him. Before long, dark forces beyond human comprehension become involved—with hilarious results.

The settings and characters draw heavily on three Lovecraft stories in particular—The Dunwich Horror, The Rats in the Walls and The Call of Cthulhu.

The last title may sound familiar even to those uninitiated to Lovecraft. That’s because Cthulhu—an interstellar behemoth with a face full of tentacles who draws a cult-like earthly following—has had its fair share of influence on popular culture. The mythical beastie’s name tends to pop up in strange places, everywhere from death metal records to cartoons. Summers stresses the fact that, despite its arcane subject matter, Lovestruck will entertain even those who have no prior familiarity with Lovecraft’s fiction.

“We are trying to appeal to a broader audience,” says Summers, “but not in the way that, say, Big Momma’s House II does.”

This production is a “very collaborative” effort, put on by the Players Club—the first official club ever formed at UBC (established in 1915) and one that allows students from all faculties to become involved in theatre.

Summers, who completed his BFA in Creative Writing last year, says this will be his last production with the Club. He intends to go out with a bang.

“[Audiences] can expect some guts,” he says. “They can expect a big monster to appear.” Regardless of its setting or theme, Lovestruck is still a comedy, blending equal measures of high- and low-brow humour. And it brings a romantic glow to Lovecraft’s often bleak and generally sexless universe.

There have been some bumps along the road. Last month cast members fell victim to H1N1, and the original lead actor was drawn away halfway through production by a lucrative television offer. Is this the beginning of a Macbeth-style curse? Is it possible that evil forces are at work?

“I think so, yeah. But I think that’s good for us. That’s what it’s about,” says Summers. “Without evil forces, we can’t bear in mind its theme: love, which is one of the evil forces at work.”

Lovestruck plays November 4–7 at at 7:30pm in UBC’s Dorothy Somerset Studio, on University Blvd. There will be a matinee on Saturday, November 7 at 1:30pm. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for non-students. Visit ubcplayersclub.com for more info.

H.P. LOVECRAFT: IN LOVE WITH MADNESS

H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) was a reclusive author who barely made enough from his writing to survive during his lifetime. Nonetheless, his short stories and novellas served as one of the foundations for modern science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Something of a misanthrope, Lovecraft was considered racist and sexist, even for his own time. That hasn’t stopped his stories from having a broad influence on modern culture, with luminaries as diverse as Alan Moore (From Hell, Watchmen) and Joyce Carol Oates (Them, Black Water) paying tribute to him in their work.

Struggling with depression and mental illness most of his life, Lovecraft created many protagonists whose interactions with forces beyond their comprehension led them to madness.