Reviewer: Elise Gallagher
Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Everything is Absolutely Fine is a comedy musical centred around a lady called Alice with anxiety. She has recently moved to a new place, started a new job and is struggling to settle into her new community.
This is Alice’s chance to try again, recreate herself, make herself cool and calm. However, she isn’t alone. Her friend Anxiety is with her every step of the way.
It’s a simple set up: two actors, a keyboard and lights. Alice is dressed in a pyjama set, and the third speaking character, ‘Sarah’, is an audience member plucked out with no preparation time – just a sheet of A4. But this simple structure only magnifies the character of the play.
When I saw it was a musical, I only imagined there to be one or two minor songs given the space it was in. Instead, the play boasts power ballads and full-volume show tunes despite its modest makeup. I particularly liked ‘I Have a Bad Feeling About This’.
I especially loved Harry Blake who played the immaculately dressed Anxiety, complete with a blank expression and perfect comic timing (as well as fantastic music ability). Our protagonist, Alice, is played by Alice Keedwell, who also wrote the source material for the play. She’s lovable and vulnerable – expertly displaying a person really struggling with their self-esteem. She also has an absolutely fantastic voice.
Mental health has become a much more prominent notion explored in the creative arts today, nowhere more so than in the theatre. What I really liked about Everything is Absolutely Fine is that it focused on the day-to-day mundane tasks and choices all of us are faced with. It was relatable to every person in the audience.
This gentle and fun play ended with a sing-song. While, usually, audience anticipation like this makes my toes curl, it was a very enjoyable, perfect ending to an uplifting play.
-Elise Gallagher