53Two, Manchester – until 21 October. Reviewed by Marcus Richardson
4*****
‘Stay Happy, Keep Smiling’ a modern play about the Lee Rigby murder. Following the aftermath of his death we explore the people who witnessed the horrific act. Set in Woolwich the place of his death, we see how these people from different walks of life and how they have been affected. We learn how people cope and how they don’t cope, we learn what can come out of this. This piece of work will resonate with you as you can find a character you can relate to, you will be moved.
The acting for me was very clean and natural, it just seemed like we were watching their everyday lives. A few times the characters would speak to the audience this was done amazingly at the start when they were all switching quickly between who was speaking, and when they make the eye contact you just feel everything is real; they used the small performance space so well to draw the audience in and they kept us there in that focus, which worked so well as you feel connected with the characters.
The stage was very compact with a few areas for scenes all in this tiny room, the only problem is that at points it just felt a little too cramped and you couldn’t get the full taste of the scene because of this, but it didn’t really hinder anyone’s performance at all, I just wish I could of seen a more open space. Everything felt natural though, from characters smoking to a simple sofa being sat on, the fence that people put flowers and cars on also kept reminding us of what this play is about, even though we are seeing how people who didn’t even know Rigby deal with his death we are constantly reminded that this is all because he died.
I went to 53two to go and see the show which is a unique performance space, both with its upsides and downsides. Even though Rigby was killed in 4 years ago, they play still holds relevance to society now and how we view terrorism and how we as a nation act in our own homes towards it. This is a good example of a powerful play that can educate and inspire thought into what it means to deal with issues that we hear about on the news far too often. I loved the show and I would recommend to anyone