REVIEW: ALL THE HAPPY THINGS at SOHO THEATRE 8 – 26 April 2025
‘Transforms the pain of loss into the joy of life.’ ★★★★
Two young women, both with long plaited braids mirror each other. They move back and forth, twirl their hair, laugh together. It’s a sweet, playful, young dance full of symbiotic harmony and trust. We learn quickly these are sisters; that one is alive and the other is not.
This is not a spoiler but in the play’s description. Plays about grief, and there’s a fair few, could almost constitute their own sub-genre. They are not necessarily an easy sell and come with an expectation of the depressing, maudlin or heart thumping. All the Happy Days (80 minutes) subverts these preconceptions from the title onwards. Full of warmth, humour, and depth, it’s a love story full of laughter with some beautifully touching moments.
If grief is the price we pay for love, then All the Happy Things takes this idea and makes a death play all about love. You’ll come away not feeling dismal or desperate but full of hope and admiration for demonstrable human qualities and the bonds that connect strong relationships, all the things that make life worth living. Directed by Laura Jane Atkinson with dramaturgy by Somebody Jones, All the Happy Things weaves an impressive temporal path. It explores how the past can remain in the present; how those we truly love never leave and, how grief, if not adequately processed will push through at unexpected moments, in the most random way. Who would choose to be racked with grief in the crisp aisle of a supermarket? Or by the inconsequential sighting of a daisy in the grass?
Performed by a talented ensemble with real chemistry, the relationships between the characters are tenderly expressed with many laugh out loud moments. Writer Naomi Denny, who initially developed the idea for the play as part of Soho Writer’s Lab in 2020, which was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award, performs Sienna, the living sister, who sees her sibling everywhere. LJ Johnson has star quality and shines as Emily, the funny, annoying, departed sister, as well as ex-girlfriend, Ruby. Dejon Mullins multi roles both as Sam, Sienna’s thoughtful and rock-like boyfriend, and her weaselly, cockney geezer manager, Kevin. Mullins multi-roles so skilfully, I couldn’t work out why Kevin wasn’t there to bow at the end. From the use of voice messages including the last conversation between the sisters and some resonant playlist ‘bangers’ as gateways to shared memories, the use of sound and music by Eamonn O Dwyer, both raises the energy and maps out some narrative tent poles. As well as being a story about a grieving sister trying to cope with her loss, this love story between the living and dead, transforms the pain of loss into the joy of life with nuance, feeling and joy.
Photography: Alex Brenner
ALL THE HAPPY THINGS at SOHO THEATRE 8 – 26 April 2025
SOHO UPSTAIRS, Soho Theatre, 21, Dean Street, W1D 3NE
CAST
Naomi Denny
Sienna
Dejon Mullings
LJ Johnson
Lydia King
Maggie
Rowena Lennon
Mum/Helen
Patrick Mckenzie
Dad/Clive
CREATIVES
Lucy Jane Atkinson
Director
Jida Akil
Designer
Abi Turner
Lighting Designer
Eamonn O’Dwyer
Sound Designer and Composer
Yemurai Zvayara
Movement Director
Daniel Steward
Production Manager
Somebody Jones
Dramaturg
Kate Tregear
Stage Manager
Samantha Adams
Drama Therapist
Steph Hartland
Producer
Tickets and show dates
Reviewed by Nilgün Yusuf
