Tag Archives: Tom Kanji

(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

The Box of Delights
★★★★

Wilton’s Music Hall

The Box of Delights

The Box of Delights

Wilton’s Music Hall

Reviewed – 5th December 2018

★★★★

“this endlessly inventive production delights in bewitching us at every turn”

 

To arrive at Wilton’s on a dark winter’s night is to open a veritable box of delights even before the performance begins. There is something magical about making your way there; about the lights streaming from the windows of this shabby-genteel 19th century frontage in an otherwise sparsely-lit patch of East London. Stepping inside is like stepping into an alternative reality; a feeling compounded yesterday evening by the delicious, festive smell of Christmas spices. All this served as the perfect introduction to Piers Torday’s theatrical adaption of John Masefield’s classic children’s book, The Box of Delights.

The book, written in 1935, tells the story of Kay Harker – orphaned in a fire six years prior to the action – and his extremely adventurous few days staying with his guardian and two other children in the run up to Christmas. In time-honoured Edwardian fashion, the three children are left alone and have to foil the Machiavellian machinations of some dangerous adults and save the day. This time, dark magic is on the loose, and nothing less than the future of Christmas itself is at stake. To add to the fun, Masefield also sprinkles the book with references to some of the zeitgeisty thrills of the thirties – a gang of jewel thieves, machine guns and jazz.

As evidenced by the extraordinary success of the Harry Potter stories, magic has not lost its power to entrance, and this endlessly inventive production delights in bewitching us at every turn. Tom Piper’s production design is terrific, and the lighting (Anna Watson), video (Nina Dunn) and sound (Ed Lewis) work together in perfect harmony to immerse us in the story’s captivating blend of wonder, menace and Christmas cheer. So much of this production’s success depends on the element of surprise, that too much description would be detrimental to its power to entertain, but suffice it to say that some of the show’s most memorable moments involve Samuel Wyer’s marvellous puppet design. The puppets are fabulous in themselves, and are brought to life by the cast in some unexpected ways throughout the evening. Special mention must go here to Molly Roberts’ wonderful skill in bringing Cole Hawlings’ frisky terrier so perfectly to life.

The eight-strong cast perform with brio throughout, and drive the play forward with a tremendous amount of appeal and energy, which helps to cover the occasional moments in which the script loses pace. Theo Ancient’s Kay, though occasionally over-earnest, is a likeable lad, and Samuel Simmonds is splendid as the sweet but slightly swotty Peter. Sara Stewart excels in the double role of Pouncer and Caroline Louisa – alternately oozing evil sex appeal and emanating slightly dotty charm – and Nigel Betts’ truly frightening Abner Brown provides the drama with a necessary dose of tangible menace.

The production is very much one of two halves, with the post-interval half substantially less wondrous and frightening than the first, and with many more nods to panto. This shift in balance seems rather a shame, and also somewhat takes away from the impact of the play’s denouement, but this is a small quibble. Overall, Justin Audibert (director) and his talented team have created a shimmering enchantment of a show, perfect for a Christmas treat.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Nobby Clarke

 


The Box of Delights

Wilton’s Music Hall until 5th January

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Songs For Nobodies | ★★★★ | March 2018
A Midsummer Night’s Dream | ★★★½ | June 2018
Sancho – An act of Remembrance | ★★★★★ | June 2018
Twelfth Night | ★★★ | September 2018
Dietrich – Natural Duty | ★★★★ | November 2018

 

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