Review: Brixton House’s Housemates Festival: Goodbye

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been in the news lately, with MPs taking a critical vote.  Goodbye ignores present UK politics and is set in a time when assisted suicide is available on the high street, in a clinic also named ‘Goodbye’. The play explores what could be possible if assisted suicide becomes legal and available to the public. 

William Holloway (played in this performance by the director, Miguel Torres Umba, after the original actor Samuel Anderson was taken ill) is a desperately unhappy man who, after losing everyone he loves, has attempted to take his own life three times. Desperate, he goes to the Goodbye clinic to end his suffering once and for all. However, when he arrives, he is greeted by a chirpy receptionist named ‘Receptionist’ (Mónica Lopera), who makes it very difficult for him to complete the correct paperwork required to be given the green light to finally die on his own terms. The receptionist, who reveals her name to be Vivi, sends him on increasingly ludicrous missions to collect all manner of paperwork in order to be allowed to die, and when William finally manages to gather it all, she turns to more extreme measures. The two form a bond, with the chemistry between actors Torres Umba and Lopera being undeniably strong. Their charm as a pair makes the ending all the more devastating when William asks Vivi to act as the legal witness to his death. 

For such a serious topic, there is an undeniable whimsy to this performance, achieved through gentle movement to soothing music and interesting lighting and props. These include ice creams and a carousel horse made of cardboard packaging, and impressive use of projections through the same booth used as the reception of the clinic. The introduction of the smoke machine at the end is perhaps a little heavy-handed, but it does effectively convey the sense of William’s fate in a delicate manner. The pacing at the start is a little slow, and some scenes could be tightened or cut to keep the momentum going. However, after the initial slow start, the pace picks up and remains constant until the end. 

Goodbye was originally performed in Bogotá, Colombia, where it enjoyed three sold-out seasons at the National Theatre of Colombia. This London performance has been translated beautifully into English by Lópera. Goodbye is an important production that handles a sensitive topic with delicacy, and will hopefully find more life in London after this run. 

Executive Producers: Mónica Lopera & Samuel Anderson
Writer: Alejandra Chamorro Cuevas
Translator: Mónica Lopera
Director: Miguel Torres Umba
Associate Producer: María Cuervo
Set and Costume Designer: Tim McQuillen-Wright
Lighting Designer: Harvey Ebbage
Sound Designer and Stage Manager: Amiir Saleem
Composer: Iván Guevara

Goodbye was performed as part of the Housemates Festival at Brixton House Theatre. It has finished its run.