All the Happy Things Review

April 13, 2025

All the Happy Things Review

8th – 26th April 2025

Sometimes, I can sit down and bash out a review in 30 minutes. Other times, particularly with a play as impressive and thought-provoking as All The Happy Things, it takes a bit longer. How do you put into words the emotions which Naomi Denny so cleverly played on? Love and loss are universal but in your small world, they’re totally unique and define who you are as a human being.

“…nothing could have prepared me for just how brilliant All The Happy Things is ”

For 80-minutes we were transported to Sienna’s world, where she is struggling to come to terms with the loss of her older sister, Emily. Afraid to let go of what she has always known, Sienna sees Emily everywhere. Whether she’s with her boyfriend, Sam, or leading a meeting at work, Emily is omnipresent, and this was the first of many things Naomi and Lucy Jane Atkinson, the director, got absolutely spot on.

Emily was omnipresent and when we saw her on stage with Sam or Sienna’s boss, it truly felt as though we were seeing a ghost or something which only Sienna (and as a result, the audience) could see. It was clever and poignant and above all, it was an intriguing personification of sisterhood.

That’s the thing with sisters, you love them and hate them – usually in equal measure – you can’t live with them, but you definitely can’t live without them and no matter what, you are never without them.

Just like sisterhood, grief is not straightforward. The emotions are deep-rooted and complicated. They catch you off guard and you find yourself crying in Tesco because you’ve seen a multipack of Mini Cheddars and then you find yourself laughing because “dumping your girlfriend and dying two weeks later was a dick move”.

Denny’s razor-sharp humour was genuine and believable, as was the chemistry between all three actors and one of the ways this was portrayed was through a meticulously curated playlist. We see Sam and Sienna dance with each other more than once and small details, such as a gentle tap on the back, didn’t go unnoticed. For Sienna and Emily, they were 100% in sync and they knew exactly which roles they had to play which was explored through TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’ and how Sienna only knew her part.

What was most awe-inspiring, and demonstrative of life’s many complexities, was that while Sienna was dealing with the loss of her sister, she was also managing her father’s deterioration in health while trying to carry on being ‘Sienna who is really good at her job’ and I have rarely seen such a powerful exploration of what it means to be human on stage.

To create something so heartfelt, relatable and entertaining is no small feat and even though I knew we were in for a treat – it’s unusual to be handed a packet of Mini Cheddars at the press desk – nothing could have prepared me for just how brilliant All The Happy Things is. If you can spare an evening to go and see it for yourself, I highly suggest you do.