Matthew Floyd Jones and Madeleine MacMahon in A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) at Pleasance Courtyard. Picture: The Other Richard
A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) continues at Pleasance Courtyard until 28 August.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Walking into the theatre, I wasn’t sure if I was at a kids’ show or not. There were bright shiny things on the stage and the performers were greeting everyone cheerfully – particularly Madeleine MacMahon who plays Sally.
This – plus the accurate title – are a great set up for where this piece is going.
With very little set, but some great backdrops of the titles of the scenes, off we go into Sally’s life. We meet her on her 16th birthday when things seem to be going really well, but then her uneasiness sets in.
We are then off on the rollercoaster of her next 10 years living with depression. We meet her mother, her friend, her employer and others – beautifully and simply played by Sophie Clay and Ed Yelland.
This show certainly meets the Silent Uproar company brief of commissioning writers, in this case Jon Brittain, to create playful and provocative work to help make the world a little less crappy.
A love of music is integral to Sally’s story and the live music in the piece, written and performed from the keyboard by Matthew Floyd Jones, takes the journey with Sally.
Utterly bright and cheerful at the onset, when she sings rich lyrics from the depths of the depression the music is there with her, both supporting her where she is and offering a possibility of hopefulness, and it seems a congruent journey on every level.
Clare Walters
* This piece contains strong language and mature themes and is recommended for 16+
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