Home » Reviews » Off West End » Cheer Up, It Might Never Happen, Camden People’s Theatre

Cheer Up, It Might Never Happen, Camden People’s Theatre

Sophia Kingshill

Directed by Pradeep Jey
★★★
Pros: A surprising and welcome narrative which examines what it means to live in the 21st century, with a well-sustained and genuine performance by Maggie Gordon-Walker.
Cons: While charming, the story lingered on the surface, and might have been more effective had we had a chance to better understand the character of Jean.
Our Verdict: A sweet and thoughtful production which finds its strength in timing and the relatable woe of feeling disconnected in a world where you can never completely detach yourself.
Courtesy of Camden People’s Theatre
In an age where the world is literally at our fingertips in the form of computers and mobile phones, it’s difficult to find solitude. Strangely however, it can be equally as challenging to feel one has a full, engaged, and connected life despite the endless information and communication constantly available to us. In a recent production at the Camden People’s Theatre, from the Uncovered Theatre Company, Sophia Kingshill’s script examines this paradox in an interesting and surprisingly funny manner. The one-act show features Maggie Gordon-Walker as Jean, an office manager for a real-estate firm, as she sets her affairs in order before she commits suicide.
We are never told why Jean wants to end her life – in fact, the nature of her personal life is left much to mystery. All the information we receive comes from one-sided telephone calls and her dictation of her various short, detached, suicide memos to family, friends, and colleagues. It’s a creative approach by Kingshill, and offers the production distinction from many other solo performances which by nature require a lot of monologue and exposition. The refreshing slice-of-life nature in which the story is told allows us to observe Jean and understand her situation without really understanding how she feels or why.
This structure also allowed Gordon-Walker to give an excellent and realistic performance – her finest moments were often reactions to statements from the other side of the telephone, which of course the audience couldn’t hear so could only imagine. Her comedic timing was excellent, and it was a delight to have her guiding us through the laughs despite the awkwardly dark scenario. Gordon-Walker also deserves praise for her well-balanced portrayal of Jean’s natural self-consciousness and apparent eagerness to please others coupled with her newly-formed unquestionable resolve to kill herself.
There are no major theatrics and Jean is very down to business, making the whole scene quite private and interesting to watch. The set was well-dressed as Jean’s office and allowed plenty of insight into Jean’s life simply by its organization and design. The many things placed within also allowed for a lot of dynamic movement and blocking to keep the stage picture versatile despite the inherently static nature of one-person shows.
While in many ways the intimate and muted tone of the show worked to its advantage, it was difficult to foster a genuine empathy for Jean, because it was primarily like watching her at a day at the office. Thematically and theoretically, this is a great statement to make about our nature and the way dealing with telephone calls and email messages and business can tramp down even the most emotionally distressing of circumstances, but it also makes it difficult for an audience to stay fully involved. Despite being mildly interesting and comically on point, the drama of the situation never really climbed, so the journey through the show never really materialised. Thus the pay-off at the hour’s end was a bit disappointing. 
Thankfully Kingshill’s wit kept the tempo of the show up even though the action was stuck, and Gordon-Walker kept us watching with her performance. It was, in the end, quite charming, if remaining rather surface level. If nothing else, it really did move me to ponder how technological interruptions and desk-work structured lives can harm and help us all.
Please feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!

Cheer Up, It Might Never Happen has completed its run at the Camden People’s Theatre. To book tickets for upcoming shows at CPT, visit http://www.cptheatre.co.uk/ or call 08444 771 000.

About Everything Theatre

Everything Theatre is proud to support fringe theatre, not only in London but beyond. From reviews to interviews, articles and even a radio show, our work is at the heart of the industry, and we are official assessors for the Off West End OffComm awards. Founded in 2011 as a pokey blog run by two theatre enthusiasts, today we are staffed by diverse contributors - people who not only work in theatre, but also in law, medicine, marketing and even psychiatry! We are all united by our love for theatre.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*