ComedyDramaLondonReview

Raise Your Hand if You Want Dad To Die – Theatre503, London

Reviewer: Karl O’Doherty

Writer: Clare O’Flaherty

Director: Coral Tarran

What makes us laugh? Perhaps only God knows what exactly triggers a hearty chuckle. The general consensus among humans, however, seems to be that we find it funny when something unexpected happens and upsets our understanding of “how things should be” while we remain fairly safe.

With death, especially that of a family member, and especially with cancer, the expectation is for tender affection and reverential memorialising. When we treat it lightly, even disrespectfully, we find comedic gold – the heady mixture of mortality and jollity just tickles us like nothing else can.

High hopes then, for this “very, very dark comedy” where a family of four gets to decide if one of them can swap places with a mother dying of cancer. Unfortunately, the opportunity is squandered frivolously. They carp and squabble without grace in the hospital room with leaden banter, assisted by dull hospital staff and politicians, before reaching a merciful, and, actually, quite strong, conclusion. Any value created by the weight of the situation is wasted, frittered away in a barrage of boring and hammy jokes (the theme of Northerners being cheap is practically another character).

When the mother awakes, about a half hour in, we have the beginnings of a genuinely enjoyable play – the 30 minute introduction ready to be forgiven and forgotten. The petty squabbling in place of the potential useful conversation, the clumsy slapstick, and over-prosecuted jokes take that possibility away from us. It becomes hard to feel empathy for a woman who illustrates her valuable and humanitarian life by explaining she “glued herself to the tarmac for universal wifi”.

The cast do, in fairness, throw themselves into it with impressive energy. As the irritating simpleton Rodger, James Georgiou has real charm at times. Joshua Ford, as the husband and father Nevin, manages to convey a real personality which gives the few good jokes he has some pleasing weight. Elsewhere, an ill-advised, lacklustre and unstable irish accent (from a tedious priest who tries for the cheapest of bargain basement laughs with comments about fiddling and boys) just serves to highlight the exhausting, flat, waffle that’s serving in place of the witty farce we could be watching.

A substantial percentage of the play feels like a boring uncle elbowing you in the ribs asking “D’ya geddit?” when he tells the same joke for the fifth time. Which is fine when you’re with a family member, but not if you’re at a ticketed event. What could have been a funny, sharp look at these people making the most important of choices instead turns out to be something that should have been let quietly and peacefully slip away.

Reviewed on 17 September 2021

The Reviews Hub Score

Repetitive, boring and exhausting

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The Reviews Hub - London

The Reviews Hub London is under the editorship of Richard Maguire. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.

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