Lenny Henry is the first of five performers, male and female and of different ages, who will alternate through the 13-week run of this bittersweet tearjerker. It involves an unnamed seven-year-old who starts a list of good things in life to persuade their mum not to attempt suicide again. Blending a serious attitude to mental health with wry humour and a degree of mawkishness, it stands or falls on the actor’s ability to work a crowd.
Although nominally a solo show, a large degree of compulsory audience participation makes it a group endeavour. As the character progresses through life and their own struggles with depression, we’re enlisted to shout out items on the constantly updated list (“Rollercoasters”, “Christopher Walken’s Hair”, “Track 7 on every great record”). And to play a succession of bit parts including his or her father, first love, and a consoling librarian with a sock puppet. The front stalls are the danger zone for this, but no seat is exempt, so introverts beware.
