Tiff's magnificent review of Tomorrow I'll Be Happy
If you were one of the people that went to see Yew Tree Connection’s latest production; Jonathan Harvey’s Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy, it’s a fair guess to say that you came out of it with the wide eyed, slightly gasping expression of a rather shocked fish out of water with words like: “That was pretty dark” on your lips. It’s okay, you can admit it, go on, raise your hand if that was you, well done to all you honest people. My use of a rather silly fish-out-of-water metaphor doesn’t just apply to the audience though; this is perhaps one of the more unusual and daring Yew Tree productions I’ve seen and heard about and, unlike my metaphor, it works brilliantly.
For those who don’t know the storyline, the play begins at the end in a normal holiday town and the death of a 17 year old homosexual named Darren (Played by Jack Iredale) and his friend’s search for the truth. The play then unfolds backwards, unfurling the reason for Darren’s untimely death in a story of prejudice, homophobia and facing who you are.
Even for the audience members who knew something about the play before they went in, Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy packs a punch and, as I described, it leaves you feeling slightly dazed and understandably solemn. The age rating of 14+ is no joke either as the cast don’t shy away from the profanity in the play’s original script and they pull it off with a magnificent gritty flair. To be sure, it’s a mature piece, but, as always, the Connections crew is more than capable of pulling it off with not just sensitivity, but understanding too.
All of the cast members work fantastically in their roles and, to mention just a few, Jack Iredale, Mirlind Bega (playing Darren’s ex-boyfriend and friend Marcus), Michael Wilby (Darren’s secret romance Scott) and Emma Fretwell (murderous friend of Scott’s wife Dior) are an utter joy to watch because they bring the jagged grit that’s inherent in the original text to the stage by bouncing between completely different personalities: Emma’s manic, yet utterly recognisable girl-we-love-to-hate (Read my lips readers: She’s a great character) to Darren, Scott and Marcus who are marvellous snapshots of the ever-so-human decision between fitting in or being yourself.
James Budenberg and Melissa Parramore (playing Scott’s friends Siddie and Cyprus) also make the best of villains because they’re not the stereotypical dark shadowy figures that are so common in theatre but they’re the embodiment of people that you remember from school or work, which makes them all the more real Melissa Parramore and Thomas Osborne (playing Scott’s brother Troy) both add a dash of much needed humour to play and there was a few titters of laughter from the audience from a handful of their lines. There was a really great feeling in the audience that we had to be granted permission to laugh due to the rich exploration of the subject of homophobia in the play and quite a few scenes of shocking intensity.
Also, on the note of dark characters, a quick and adoring shout-out to Katie Ludvigson: I never thought I’d enjoy seeing someone stab Emma Fretwell’s hand because we’re friends (although after saying this I don’t know for how much longer) but you two played off each other so well that, for me, your scene was my favourite bit of the play.
I only saw Charlotte Scott as Dior, the newlywed bride of Scott, (Bethany Mirfin also plays the character but I failed to see the performance: Shout out to you though Beth, you do a good job on sound!). Charlotte well performed a trapped woman who wants more from life (and also looked utterly stunning in her “wedding” dress), unbeknownst to the fact that her husband has a secret and is being forced not only to choose between her and his secret love Darren, but also to choose who he wants to be in life. It’s a play that is as much about homophobia and social prejudice as it is about the individual fight for acceptance, both from others and yourself and the cast has really pushed the boundaries of what we know from Yew Tree.
All in all, there is an awful lot for Yew Tree to be proud of in this play as it showcases some of the best talent, bravest actors and finest direction that we have to offer and has succeeded in turning a brave and intelligent script into a well thought over and lion-hearted production.
If you were one of the people that went to see Yew Tree Connection’s latest production; Jonathan Harvey’s Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy, it’s a fair guess to say that you came out of it with the wide eyed, slightly gasping expression of a rather shocked fish out of water with words like: “That was pretty dark” on your lips. It’s okay, you can admit it, go on, raise your hand if that was you, well done to all you honest people. My use of a rather silly fish-out-of-water metaphor doesn’t just apply to the audience though; this is perhaps one of the more unusual and daring Yew Tree productions I’ve seen and heard about and, unlike my metaphor, it works brilliantly.
For those who don’t know the storyline, the play begins at the end in a normal holiday town and the death of a 17 year old homosexual named Darren (Played by Jack Iredale) and his friend’s search for the truth. The play then unfolds backwards, unfurling the reason for Darren’s untimely death in a story of prejudice, homophobia and facing who you are.
Even for the audience members who knew something about the play before they went in, Tomorrow I’ll Be Happy packs a punch and, as I described, it leaves you feeling slightly dazed and understandably solemn. The age rating of 14+ is no joke either as the cast don’t shy away from the profanity in the play’s original script and they pull it off with a magnificent gritty flair. To be sure, it’s a mature piece, but, as always, the Connections crew is more than capable of pulling it off with not just sensitivity, but understanding too.
All of the cast members work fantastically in their roles and, to mention just a few, Jack Iredale, Mirlind Bega (playing Darren’s ex-boyfriend and friend Marcus), Michael Wilby (Darren’s secret romance Scott) and Emma Fretwell (murderous friend of Scott’s wife Dior) are an utter joy to watch because they bring the jagged grit that’s inherent in the original text to the stage by bouncing between completely different personalities: Emma’s manic, yet utterly recognisable girl-we-love-to-hate (Read my lips readers: She’s a great character) to Darren, Scott and Marcus who are marvellous snapshots of the ever-so-human decision between fitting in or being yourself.
James Budenberg and Melissa Parramore (playing Scott’s friends Siddie and Cyprus) also make the best of villains because they’re not the stereotypical dark shadowy figures that are so common in theatre but they’re the embodiment of people that you remember from school or work, which makes them all the more real Melissa Parramore and Thomas Osborne (playing Scott’s brother Troy) both add a dash of much needed humour to play and there was a few titters of laughter from the audience from a handful of their lines. There was a really great feeling in the audience that we had to be granted permission to laugh due to the rich exploration of the subject of homophobia in the play and quite a few scenes of shocking intensity.
Also, on the note of dark characters, a quick and adoring shout-out to Katie Ludvigson: I never thought I’d enjoy seeing someone stab Emma Fretwell’s hand because we’re friends (although after saying this I don’t know for how much longer) but you two played off each other so well that, for me, your scene was my favourite bit of the play.
I only saw Charlotte Scott as Dior, the newlywed bride of Scott, (Bethany Mirfin also plays the character but I failed to see the performance: Shout out to you though Beth, you do a good job on sound!). Charlotte well performed a trapped woman who wants more from life (and also looked utterly stunning in her “wedding” dress), unbeknownst to the fact that her husband has a secret and is being forced not only to choose between her and his secret love Darren, but also to choose who he wants to be in life. It’s a play that is as much about homophobia and social prejudice as it is about the individual fight for acceptance, both from others and yourself and the cast has really pushed the boundaries of what we know from Yew Tree.
All in all, there is an awful lot for Yew Tree to be proud of in this play as it showcases some of the best talent, bravest actors and finest direction that we have to offer and has succeeded in turning a brave and intelligent script into a well thought over and lion-hearted production.
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