10 – 14 March
Written by Naomi Denny and directed by Aaliyah McKay, All The Happy Things takes on grief through the fractured, intimate bond between sisters. Sienna is trying to continue with daily life after the sudden death of Emily, except Emily remains everywhere, surfacing in conversation, memory and the blurred spaces between sorrow and routine.
The production is at its strongest in the performances. Naomi Denny, Michaella Moore and Gavin Dunn bring a real naturalism to the piece, with Denny and Moore especially capturing the push and pull of sisterhood with warmth, irritation and ease. There is something very believable in the way the sisters ricochet off one another, the playfulness of intimacy sitting alongside old tensions and shared history. That sense of lived-in connection gives the show much of its emotional weight.
What works well is the juxtaposition between the absurdity of seeing and speaking to your dead sister and the humdrum bickering of everyday life. The play understands that grief is rarely neat. It lingers in the ordinary, in jokes, in habits, in the feeling of someone still being present long after they have gone. Dunn also brings a sympathetic steadiness to the boyfriend role, standing at the edges of Sienna’s grief and trying, often unsuccessfully, to understand what she needs.
The set and staging are simple but effective. Doorways, liminal spaces and sparse design keep the focus on the emotional shifts within the relationships. Delyth Evans’ design allows the performances room to breathe, while the soundscape and music beds point toward the emotional interior of the piece, even if they do not always feel fully in step with the tone of the writing.
McKay’s direction keeps the piece moving cleanly and while All The Happy Things may not say something entirely new about grief, it does offer a sincere and well-acted exploration of loss, memory and sisterhood, held together by three strong performances at its centre.
★★★★☆. Tilly Marshall, 13 March 2026
Photography credit: Alex Brenner
