Review: All The Happy Things (Soho Theatre)

Review by Harry Bower

⭐️⭐️⭐️

When writer-performer Naomi Denny was ushering at Soho Theatre, she can’t have imagined that in such a short period of time audiences would be ushered in by others to watch a play she has written. And yet, this spring, All The Happy Things debuts in the Upstairs space complete with a sold-out press night and an air of excitement about this up-and-comer. That excitement isn’t without merit. Denny’s gut-wrenching triple hander is an effective examination of grief and the impact the loss of a loved one can have on those they leave.

Sienna is trying to move on from the death of her close sister, Emily, but there’s a problem. Despite strong conditions for success; a job she’s good at and a loving and patient partner, Sienna can’t stop seeing Emily everywhere she turns. Simultaneously dealing with her father’s Alzheimer’s disease-led cognitive decline, she begins to spiral. 

Setting Sienna up with a strong and stable life is one of the critical reasons this piece may hit hard. So often stories about grief are told accompanied by a lack of support from others, or characterised with mitigating factors which make overcoming the grief far harder than it should be. Not so, in All The Happy Things. For Sienna, things are hard in spite of how good the rest of her life is set up. Of course there are notable irritations - the boss who’s so corporate it hurts, the incompetent colleague who makes you overcompensate, the challenges which come about when faced with a parent in need of care. These are everyday life challenges which in isolation would be manageable, but when compounded are enough to push someone under.

Set and lighting design are both very functional. The mirrors laid out in a zigzag are dangerously close to cliche but the space is minimalist enough that they don’t detract from the action. Sound design by Eamonn O Dwyer is strong - the various layered phone calls, voices and timed sound effects are entirely complimentary to the narrative and creative choices rather than acting in contrast.

Denny has a naturalistic writing style, and a clear ability to capture the essence of grief and the way it permeates life. Relationships are drawn with enough complexity for there to be genuine feeling developed by the audience over the short enough seventy-minute run time. In what is otherwise a pretty well-paced piece, I did find the ending a bit overprescribed, and some of the choices were a tad blunt. It doesn’t feel like anything is new here which, in and of itself isn’t a problem - but the way in which seemingly age-old challenges are chiselled into this world makes everything feel a bit stale. The piece absolutely leads us to reflect on our own sibling relationships and our capacity for grief within the context of modern mental health, but it’s hard not to leave asking if that’s the writer’s only motivation or if you’re missing something deeper. The global majority angle take on these stories feels meaningfully unique; Soho Theatre are hosting a BLACK OUT night on 16th April.

Three cracking performances are a huge part of All The Happy Things’ watchability. Denny can act as well as write, it turns out, and plays Sienna with permanent inner conflict, balancing the need for the character to be likable while also allowing the physical demonstration of torment to manipulate her. As sister Emily, LJ Johnson is a star - cheeky, energetic, with spot on comic timing, and a phenomenal scowl in her easy reach whenever it’s required. Dejon Mullings completes the trio, of Ted Lasso fame, and perhaps the most complete performer on that stage. His Sam, the boyfriend, is heartbreakingly compassionate and gorgeously understated. He exudes positive masculinity and an empathetic smile which endears you to him every time it appears. His throwaway comic lines are delivered with a swagger; the audience are safely in the hands of someone who knows their character inside and out.

All The Happy Things is an interesting, if not revolutionary exploration of the power of grief, sisterhood, and learning that letting someone go doesn’t mean forgetting them. The trio of charismatic performers throw all of their energy into the ring and the outcome is touching and enjoyable. Its crowning achievement is the thought-provocation post-curtain. There’s no doubt audience members will be reaching into their phones and tapping out a quick message to family members, or going home and giving them a proper hug.

All The Happy Things plays at Soho Theatre until 26th April 2025. For more information visit: https://sohotheatre.com/events/all-the-happy-things/

Photos by Alex Brenner