Review: Such Happy People
By Emily Hatwell
Original play Such Happy People, written by Molly Barnes-Tate (following her recent DDF success) was a heartfelt, single act play in one of Durham’s more under-rated venues, City Theatre. By Pitch Productions, and both directed and produced by Jessica O’Toole (assisted by Lilly Wonders), the play follows a new father, grieving the loss of his wife, and the man’s sister-in-law. In the short run-time, this two-hander expressed different ways of coping with grief in a way that was intricate, sympathetic, and frank.
Clear intention and thought had evidently gone into set design
The stage at City Theatre, being small and intimately close to the audience, was perfectly suited to the small-scale production. Clear intention and thought had evidently gone into set design (dressed in a collaborative effort), with the layers of detritus covering the stage establishing that James, the father, was not coping well with the death of his wife. This was heightened by interactions between the two characters with the rubbish on stage, helping it seamlessly oscillate between set dressing and props, making the room seem truly lived in.
The two characters were portrayed by Jasper Kyriakoudis as the father, James, and Ciara Evens as the sister-in-law, Viv. Both actors demonstrated a sensitive approach to the script, so it rarely came over as gratuitous. This was made more impressive by the short run-time of the play condensing scenes, and by only having one other actor on stage, thus requiring a chemistry that an ensemble piece might not necessitate.
Moreover, this was Ciara Evans’ first DST performance, which could not be guessed by her strength in the acting department. Particularly, Evans’ cheerful delivery of her lines was undercut by fraught facial gestures. Evans was matched equally by Kyriakoudis, who also demonstrated clear skill in his halting tone and considered haunted expressions. Other vocal performances were provided by Ollie Painter, Laura Turnbull and Henry Smith, in the form of pre-recorded audio, mainly taking the form of voicemails. This clever touch helped to provide backdrop and context to the play in a swift and effective manner, removing the need for superfluous characters that could have created clutter on stage. It is also testament to the effective sound operation of Hamish Campbell (who also successfully wore the hats of production manager, and lighting designer & operator)!
O’Toole’s direction was simple but impactful with the carefully considered blocking around the small stage space
O’Toole’s direction was simple but impactful with the carefully considered blocking around the small stage space, though getting the actors to tone back the shouting of lines would have elevated the performance further, as it could have allowed for a more complex approach to the portrayed depressive state that occurs after a loved one has died. While anger is par for the course in grief, it is not the only emotion felt. Barnes-Tate’s script also displayed a mature understanding of both the subject matter and the skills involved to create a script that never overstays its welcome. It would have been easy to stretch the concept to two acts, but the choice to limit it to one was effective in retaining audience attention, creating a carefully curated story.
In all, Such Happy People was a pleasantly bite-sized deconstruction of the grief process. The script was layered, and everything from the performances, to stage design, to direction injected heart into it, with all the parts meshing together successfully to create a strong example of what a one-act, original play can be. Any future works of those involved should be closely followed!
Such Happy People ran at City Theatre, Durham from 26th – 28th February, 2026.
Image: Pitch Productions via @pitchprods on Instagram.
