Review: Good Grief, Hen and Chickens Theatre

An exploration of the nature of death and grief could be presented as a heavy and morbid debate. However, in developing the story of Good Grief, writer Matt Adie has brought his personal experiences to present the true-to-life use of humour as a coping mechanism to hide the pain from both others and ourselves.

Alex (Danny Swanson) puts on a brave face to his family and friends whilst exploring how to manage the deep grief which he feels from the absence of his recently deceased wife. His best friend, Jake (Paul Russell), keeps up a barrage of banter to keep his spirits up and coax him back into socialising again. Alex’s daughter, Ella (Georgina Bennett), makes him realise that he cannot focus solely on himself as she is also in need of comfort. Alex reflects on what support is helpful or unwanted, receiving advice and solace by visualising his wife, Alison (Lou Wallace), who guides him on how to move on with his life without her.

This is very much a character drama, and Adie’s script made a wise choice in having Alex directly speak to the audience to convey his feelings, which really brings out the personal nature of the experience. Swanson is fully engaging and charismatic, generating both laughs and empathy for Alex as he conveys the pain hidden beneath a carefree surface. The script cleverly uses each character to focus on a different aspect of the impact of grief and loss. Ella is used to explore the discussion on how shared grief should be embraced rather than avoided; Alison conveys the belief that grief should enable people to be more understanding of others, whilst Jake raises the harsh truths that Alex’s behaviour is at risk of negatively impacting on everyone. The cast share excellent chemistry as they bring the sparkling dialogue to life. Swanson, Bennett, and Wallace bring a believable familial warmth as they provide mutual support for each other, whilst Russell provides comic support and honest reflection as a good friend would.

As producer, Bennett and director Rob Graham adopt different approaches to enhance the distinct emotional moods of the story; a lightly surrealist delivery is used for the humorous reflections whilst a sombre presentation is used to convey the distraught grief. When Alex bemoans the variety of well-meaning but equally empty messages of condolences he received, they are brought to life by the versatility of Julia Riley adopting the range of accents and costumes of the sympathisers. When Jake reminds Alex of the outside world, his jovial descriptions are accompanied by Tristan Cameron’s comic light and sound effects. In Alex’s most poignant moments, the stage darkens in solidarity whilst sombre music plays to highlight the display of deep emotions.

The set design also subtly reflects the mindset of Alex, being permanently fixed as his sparse kitchen as he chooses to isolate himself at home. Rather than waiting off stage when they are not sharing a scene, the cast are instead seated at the back of the stage, as a symbolic representation of how Alex chooses to keep them at a distance instead of embracing the support they readily offer.

The notion of what could constitute a healthy ‘good’ grief is a thought provoking one. The approachable presentation of both the tragic impacts and light-hearted attempts to manage them certainly makes it an engaging and relatable story to anyone who has experienced a similar loss.

Written by: Matt Adie
Directed by: Rob Graham
Produced by: Georgina Bennett – Sense of Place Theatre Company
Lighting and Sound by: Tristan Cameron
Stage Managed by: Maddie Palmer 

Good Grief plays at Hen and Chickens Theatre until Saturday 22nd March.