The Story of My Life – Stage Door Theatre

Tim Edwards and Markus Sodergren in The Story of My Life at the Stage Door Theatre, London. Picture: Peter Davies

The Story of My Life continues at the Stage Door Theatre, London until 19 October 2024.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

With a definite touch of the retro cabaret lounge about it, the Stage Door Theatre, above the Prince of Wales pub on Drury Lane, Covent Garden, seems the ideal setting for an intimate evening’s entertainment and so it proves with The Story of My Life. There’s even the option of a pre-show dinner but thankfully on the night there was not a single clank of cutlery to be heard once the performance started.

Like all compact spaces, it’s a double-edged sword in that while the audience can get close-up and personal with the cast, for the performers there’s no hiding space when, as here, the storyline becomes a little tiresome and the production begins to feel single paced with the score sounding repetitive. The somewhat stark, bright white IKEA-esque set doesn’t really shout creativity either, but the very tight confines of this venue clearly puts limitations on that aspect.

Directed by Robert McWhir (artistic director of the Stage Door Theatre), this UK premiere of the Broadway musical, with a book by Brian Hill and music and lyrics by Neil Bartram, is essentially a neat retrospective on two best friends’ lives – a moving enough emotional musical journey, including all the bumps on the road trip of life.

Almost like watching two CVs (or resumés) set to music, both Markus Sodergren as best-selling author Thomas Weaver and Tim Edwards as his bestie, Alvin Kelby, wring everything possible out of this production and to their credit, you never once doubt the depth of their friendship and the bond between them.

Thomas, having returned to his hometown to deliver the eulogy for his childhood friend, Alvin, finds himself with a touch of writer’s block, the experience becoming ever more complex and emotionally challenging as both bitter and sweet memories of their shared childhood flood back. Thankfully, the 85-minute production is not all retrospective angst and suffering and there are a few nice comic moments as, like two naughty schoolboys, they roll back the years and fondly reminisce about halcyon days long gone.

As sporadically intriguing as the show is, perhaps the single most impressive thing about it is that apparently Edwards took over the role of Alvin and learned it in just four days prior to press night. That clearly deserves some kind of accolade and begs the question that the next time there’s an awards event, the organisers should surely include a ‘Show Must Go On’ category.

Apparently, the production flopped on Broadway, being described as way too intimate for a massive stage. In truth, productions like this naturally find their level, a willing audience and, as here, a suitable Fringe venue. As interesting as it is, this just doesn’t quite spark the imagination. Given the effort that Sodergren, and especially Edwards, have put in, that’s somewhat of a shame.

Derek Smith