Tag Archives: Adrienne Quartly

(THIS IS NOT A) HAPPY ROOM

★★★

King’s Head Theatre

(THIS IS NOT A) HAPPY ROOM

King’s Head Theatre

★★★

“struggles to know itself: its heavy in content, but its comedy is competitive, rather than complementary”

‘(This is not a) Happy Room’ is rammed with content, much of which is very funny. For all that content, though, it lacks substance.

Let us start with the good. Written by Rosie Day, and directed by Hannah Price, the concept for the piece is promising: a wedding which quickly devolves into a funeral. It’s an intriguing set up, allowing for some Aristotelian compliance: all the action takes place in the wedding-cum-funeral venue, and all in the space of about 24 hours. Yet, the tragicomic offerings of this narrative are misused, and it struggled to emotionally engage.

Much of the dialogue does amuse, especially in conjunction with Jonny Weldon’s physical eccentricities and excellent timing as attention-starved hypochondriac Simon. Amanda Abbington, too, is classy and cutting as matriarch Esther, expertly combatting her adult-children’s whines and self-indulgent pathologies (though I’m not sure she was meant to be the most sympathetic figure – more on this later). Alison Liney as dementia-ridden Great Aunt Agatha and Tom Kanji as Laura’s (Andrea Valls) husband Charles, also regale with some excellent comedy moments.

A pressing concern with this play, however, is in its characters: ‘(This is not a) Happy Room’ is an unrelenting piece of naturalistic theatre, which becomes rather monotonous in this pursuit. Without an interlude to chop up this type of drama – please, dear god, bring back the Interval – this style of dialogue loses pace and organisation. What’s more, naturalistic dialogue of this ilk screams out for nuance in its characters. To sustain itself, naturalism must present fascinating, idiosyncratic and nuanced people at its centre. Most of the characters in this piece veered in and out of cliche. This was particularly apparent in the women, especially the daughters, Laura and Elle. They typified the trend that is becoming alarmingly common: a kind of fetishised narcissist. Both women were vapid and nasty, with Elle parading ignorance and idiocy with proud ostentation. It’s not cute, and I fear does little for feminism.

The figure of real sympathy is Abbington’s Esther, beleaguered and criticised incessantly by her children, she’s painted as the therapy-denying, stern British mother, who believes most mental illness is just a natural response to the drudgeries of life. But as a mother and maternal figure, she is seemingly vilified. Indeed, some compelling questions are raised regarding motherhood and the ‘selflessness’ narrative of motherhood, but the ways in which these were navigated felt incomplete.

As the play develops, it gets littered with traumas, few of which are divulged in a way which forwards the conversation. Without more specific family detail, it’s hard not to see the Hendersons as symptomatic of many a repressed British household, rather than one of spectacular dysfunction. This show struggles to know itself: its heavy in content, but its comedy is competitive, rather than complementary. ‘(This is not a) Happy Room’ is certainly very watchable, and it will make you laugh, but as a drama, it flounders somewhat.



(THIS IS NOT A) HAPPY ROOM

King’s Head Theatre

Reviewed on 31st March 2025

by Violet Howson

Photography by Mark Senior

 

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

FIREBIRD | ★★★★ | January 2025
LOOKING FOR GIANTS | ★★★ | January 2025
LADY MONTAGU UNVEILED | ★★★ | December 2024
HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR MOTHER | ★★★ | October 2024
TWO COME HOME | ★★★★★ | August 2024
THE PINK LIST | ★★★★ | August 2024
ENG-ER-LAND | ★★★ | July 2024
DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL! | ★★★★ | June 2024
BEATS | ★★★ | April 2024
BREEDING | ★★★★ | March 2024

(THIS IS NOT A) HAPPY ROOM

(THIS IS NOT A) HAPPY ROOM

(THIS IS NOT A) HAPPY ROOM

TWO OF US

★★★★

Watford Palace Theatre

TWO OF US at the Watford Palace Theatre

★★★★

“Both actors are pretty accomplished pianists, and we feel the bonhomie as they jam together”

“You and I have memories – longer than the road that stretches out ahead”. Although Paul McCartney wrote those lines – from the song ‘Two of Us’ – for his wife Linda, it has always been interpreted as a gesture of affection to John Lennon; made all the more moving as the Beatle’s were well on the way to breaking up. When the Beatles eventually split, the rift between Lennon and McCartney was famously chronicled in the pair’s musical output. Lennon’s “How do you Sleep?” was probably the most scathing, rebuffed by McCartney’s deliberately lightweight and tongue-in-cheek “Silly Love Songs”. The global phenomenon of McCartney’s “Yesterday” was always a bugbear of Lennon’s. The reality was always kept close to the couple’s chests, but speculation was fuelled across the media and around gramophone players as fans pored over the lyrics looking for extra layers of meaning.

Among them was self-confessed Beatles nut, Mark Stanfield, who used the song title for his 2000 film “Two of Us” which became a cult favourite. Now, re-written for the stage with Barry Sloane and Richard Short, it has evolved into a poignant study of friendship, of falling out, reconciliation and looking out for someone. “Two of Us” could be you and me; could be anyone. It’s an ‘everyman’ story, but built around the Lennon-MacCartney duo, it is an inspired choice that dishes out some gripping and honest dialogue.

We are in Lennon’s apartment in The Dakota, overlooking Central Park in 1976, and Paul McCartney turns up unannounced. It was to be the last time they met. The atmosphere is immediately evoked by Amy Jane Cook’s sparse but functional whitewashed apartment – complete with white grand piano. Adrienne Quartly’s realistic sound design firmly places Manhattan six storeys below. Barry Sloane’s Lennon is alone, dressed in a white kimono, jittery and distracted. We immediately wonder if he is okay. Cold Turkey comes to mind, but is it depression? Anxiety? Sloane masterfully gets under the fame, and the skin, to reveal Lennon’s vulnerability beneath the incisive shell. When Jay Johnson’s McCartney crosses the threshold, they initially tread cautiously around each other afraid to break the shell, yet past gripes are clearly seen through the cracks. Johnson is convincing as ‘Macca’ – at times the cheeky-chappy-Scouser whilst also having the gravitas and licence to neutralise Lennon’s acidity. But moreover, Johnson reveals a deeply caring soul who lives with the regret of being unable to fully express his love for his lifelong friend.

The ice breaks at the piano. Both actors are pretty accomplished pianists, and we feel the bonhomie as they jam together. But old wounds resurface, replaced almost as quickly by fond memories, adolescent mischief and a generous supply of wacky baccy. Scot Williams directs with a Pinteresque eye, allowing the action and the emotions to unfold in real time. Sometimes the pauses and silences drag, but for the most part they give us time to prepare ourselves for the next twist in the encounter. In a similar way, McCartney seems to be constantly bracing himself for the attack.

The two actors give powerfully realistic performances, although occasionally hindered by platitudes. And, although not necessarily a revelation, we see another side to the characters. Historical facts are teased out (sometimes via cringeworthy puns) rather than force fed to us, which is a refreshing change from the exposition that often plagues plays like this. Ultimately it is a love story. Of sorts. It comes from the writer’s heart. The final scenes hover between pathos and schmaltz, not quite sure which side of the boundary to land. Yet we are moved. And entertained. Whatever issues underlie the relationship, or sorrows that remain unresolved, “Two of Us” knows how to ‘take a sad song and make it better’.


TWO OF US at the Watford Palace Theatre

Reviewed on 17th September 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ross Kernahan

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 1936 | ★★★★ | March 2023
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST | ★★★★ | December 2022

TWO OF US

TWO OF US

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page