★★

“comes over as a 15-minute sketch which has been extended beyond its capacity to entertain”

The afterlife offers rich territory for writers and actors. We know nothing solid about it, after all. In this new play by Helen Cunningham (who also takes the lead as Freya), it is treated as an opportunity for comic character development and a chance to poke fun at red tape.

The play opens with a young woman (Andrea Matthea) awkwardly dressed in Edwardian costume and puffing on a vape as she sits near a work station piled with paperwork. A young man (Gwithian Evans) bursts in, flurried and in a state of chaos. A bit of comic stage business follows that involves vaping, a computer that he can’t get to work, and a bottle of whisky.

It soon transpires that this is a waiting room for the afterlife where souls are being processed and prepared for their life in eternity. The job of the two on stage is to ‘curate’ these souls individually. With a long list to work through, they exit in a hurry; the stage goes dark and when the lights come on again Freya is found lying on the floor as if she has been carelessly tossed into the room. Evans’ curator enters and the fun begins.

Freya has no idea she is dead, cannot remember the circumstances that led to her to this place and, anyway, is suffering from a splitting headache. An interview peppered with misunderstandings ensues but the curator trips over another piece of mishandled admin and exits to sort it out, leaving the fourth player, John (Trey Fletcher), to blunder in by accident. The twist – that he is from 1898 – gives further opportunities for a comic dialogue of misunderstandings – and leads to a troublesome confession.

Unfortunately, there are too many ideas and much of the comic potential is never fully realised. I wondered if this was a first outing as a director by Nikoletta Soumeledis (who appeared at the Old Red Lion earlier this year in ‘Spent’). She is an experienced actor and writer but fails to get a grip on this play. It comes over as a 15-minute sketch which has been extended beyond its capacity to entertain. There are too many long pauses, the anachronisms are not properly dealt with (would a man from 1898 use the expression ‘upbeat’?) and the ending peters out making no sense. The actors all need tighter direction with the exception of Evans who delivers a well-tuned haphazard performance in keeping with his character. He is the most engaging presence on stage and an actor to watch for the future.

MOOMINVALLEY IN NOVEMBER

Upstairs at the Gatehouse

★★★

“The themes are beautifully dealt with in song”

Moominvalley in November is a musical homage to Tove Jansson’s much loved Moomin family. Most particularly it is based on her final book in which the Moomins themselves never actually appear.

It’s important to say that upfront because if you haven’t actually read this book (as a child I read and adored all the early ones) you – and any children you bring along – are going to be very disappointed not to see even one hippopotamus-like creature on stage. There is a slight exception to this, but that would be giving too much away.

What this piece is actually about is loss, resilience and rediscovery. The book itself, on publication, was hailed as a meditation for all ages (they all are) and “the wisest and most moving book about mourning that I have ever read” (Frank Cottrell Boyce). Bear that in mind as you go and see this.

The story centres around five very different characters – some of whom we have met in Jansson’s other books, such as Snufkin – who find themselves arriving at Moominvalley, just before winter. They arrive simultaneously, all seeking the comfort of the family for different reasons. All are devastated to find the family gone, not to return. Over the course of the next two hours they have to come to terms with this, learn about getting along with each other, and undertake their own transformation.

The choice by Hans Jacob Hoeglund (book, music and lyrics) to turn this tale into a musical, was absolutely the right choice. The themes are beautifully dealt with in song. Not all of them come off, but there are one or two that you will find yourself humming as you leave the theatre. The set (Lu Herbert) is suitably whimsical. Director and choreographer Amanda Noar extracts committed performances from the actors: Jane Quinn, Matthew Heywood, Stuart Simons, Izzie Winter, Martin Callaghan and Abigail Yeo. They are all fine singers and good physical actors; and the pace of the production never lets up.

Yet somehow, for all the energy – and a huge, talented, creative team – it doesn’t quite gel properly and comes over as chaotic. My theatre-going companion, who had no previous knowledge of the Moomin books (hard to believe, but there are some) was bewildered: she had no idea what was going on and found the characters unlovable. That is a serious fault: Jansson always handled oddness with brilliance and empathy. Throughout her books, readers are led to open their hearts to even the most weird and potentially repellent – think Groke, who gets a mention here. Jansson’s writing is celebrated worldwide, not just for its beauty but also because early on she showed the case for tolerance and understanding.

I suspect the team should have paid more attention to the reality that any stage production of a loved book must, ultimately, be able to stand on its own. This is a musical being premiered at Upstairs at the Gatehouse and has great potential. It needs a clearer narrative and tough filtering to warm our hearts and to open up the beautiful story to a new Moomin audience.

CURATING

Old Red Lion Theatre

★★

“comes over as a 15-minute sketch which has been extended beyond its capacity to entertain”

CURATING

Old Red Lion Theatre

Reviewed on 1st November 2025

by Louise Sibley

Photography by Miranda Mazzarella

Previously reviewed at this venue:

CURATING

CURATING

CURATING

MOOMINVALLEY IN NOVEMBER

Upstairs at the Gatehouse

★★★

“The themes are beautifully dealt with in song”