Seven Days in the Life of Simon Labrosse Review

October 25, 2024

Seven Days in the Life of Simon Labrosse Review

22nd October – 2nd November 2024

From the moment you walk into the theatre, you are met with a warm welcome from the cast and enter into a play within a play: Seven Days in the Life of Simon Labrosse. But who is Simon Labrosse? In the midst of Canada’s 1993 recession, struggling to find employment and behind in his rent, Labrosse (Rob Wyn Jones) has been left behind by his girlfriend, Natalie, who is busy helping the helpless in Africa.

He needs to make money, fast (not least to replace his repossessed ghetto blaster that he records messages to send to Natalie on), and what better way than by selling his services? He will be your emotional stuntman, personal audience, sentence finisher and flatter you (all for a small fee…)

Labrosse’s fellow cast members include another Natalie (Elaine Bastible) — Labrosse’s girlfriend’s namesake — a woman obsessed with her pancreas who plays “all the women in his life”, and Leo (Tony Wadham who also directed the play and you may recognise as Pete Preston in C4’s Peep Show), a nihilistic, Bernard Black-type character whose pessimism comes from an injury to the rear of his head in early life and spends most of his time writing depressing poems in the boiler room in the basement.

“Surrealist, philosophical, laugh-out loud funny, and reflective, it is totally unique”

Sometimes a play just falls into place. The script, cast, set, costumes, music, lighting, direction and production. Seven Days in the Life of Simon Labrosse did just that – it was sheer perfection. Wyn Jones portrayed Labrosse with a million-dollar smile, sparkle in his eye and perfectly coiffured silver hair. His smooth Welsh tones added to the character’s charm and persona, and his performance was flawless. Alongside him, Wadham’s Leo was brilliantly negative and droll, with unbroken characterisation at every moment. Bastible played Natalie to great comic effect, and was equally brilliant and amusing with each character she brought on stage. The set was certainly how I remember the 1990s – fewer neon bum bags and high top trainers, more primary colour-splattered duvet covers and 1980s hangover telephones, not forgetting the trusty Video Home Systems. Spot on, ordinary everyday life.

Written by Canadian Carol Fréchette and first performed in 2001, this is Seven Days in the Life of Simon Labrosse’s UK premiere, and it appears we have been missing out until now. Having gained cult status in Europe, let’s hope it gains as much of a following here. Surrealist, philosophical, laugh-out loud funny, and reflective, it is totally unique and I wish it all the success it deserves. Please don’t change a thing.