‘Dear Melanie… I’m committing suicide-’
Cheer Up, It Might Never Happen
is a dark comedy about a middle aged woman named Jean (Maggie
Gordon-Walker), and her impending suicide. Jean writes a series of
letters to her nearest and dearest, endeavours to make her replacement
at work as easy as possible for her bosses and- as she’d hate to cause a
commotion when she’s gone- calls the neighbours to let them know they
might be needing her spare key.
The play, acted out in it’s entirety by Gordon-Walker, sees a ‘trip
to Cornwall’ becoming a gentle and humorous euphemism for Jean’s
suicide, as she makes tedious phone calls to neighbours and clients. The
play is set in Jean’s flat, as she potters around watering the
houseplants, and organises the folders and files that, ironically, she
will no longer need after the day is up. Clearly worried that she will
inconvenience those around her, she seeks to finish all of her tasks
before she will take her ‘trip to Cornwall’ later that evening. Rather
than obsessing over how her suicide will ultimately affect herself,
Jean’s anxieties only surface through thinking about how her actions
might affect those around her, and her altruistic nature is both
endearing and humorous throughout.
Cheer Up
did an excellent job of being emotionally moving whilst remaining
lighthearted, and the play featured laugh out loud moments throughout.
The efforts of all involved were clearly notable as the play manoeuvred
from beginning to end without a hitch. Well worth seeing.
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