All The Happy Things, Soho Theatre Review
All The Happy Things production image. Photo by Alex Brenner
Written by Becky for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
When you lose someone that you thought was going to be in your life forever so suddenly, it’s hard to truly let go. Naomi Denny’s ‘All The Happy Things’ is an honest, gentle representation of grief, simultaneously showing it in comforting and debilitating forms.
Sienna (Naomi Denny) is struggling to manoeuvre through life without her sister Em (LJ Johnson) - so much so that she sees Em everywhere, who makes commentary in her everyday life to a detrimental effect. Interrupting her work and her personal life, the line between happiness and delusion blurs, where Sienna must work to live in harmony with the presence of her sister, as well as her ever-present grief.
The on-stage chemistry between Denny and Johnson is strong, and the pair does well to present Sienna and Em’s close sisterly relationship. Em’s constant presence in Sienna’s life is highlighted with humour, adding witty commentary to Sienna’s everyday conversations. Likewise, their inside jokes, from joking over the lyrics of ‘No Scrubs’ by TLC to unspoken games in the house, illustrate how it’s the little details in relationships that stick the most in memories, especially after loss.
The calm and nuanced scenes were broken up by sections of abstract physical movement, accompanied by the sound of voicemail messages to Sienna. The mimicking movements of Sienna and Em, such as wrapping their hair and their fingers, get increasingly more intense as Em’s presence takes more and more control over Sienna’s life. While an understandable choice in scene transitions, the sudden changes to dark, abstract movement sequences felt jarring with the rest of the dialogue, losing a lot of the patience, humour, and playfulness that’s presented in the rest of the dialogue. The style changes perhaps brought one too many ideas to the stage.
Running at Soho Theatre until 26th April, All The Happy Things is a courageous dark comedy that embraces its complexities of grief with open arms.
★★★
