Next to Normal

 A musical about mental illness, this is the latest in a bit of a run recently in plays dealing with this topic.  In this one, Diana and Dan, with their two teenage children, seem like a normal American family living in their swish, glossy house, but it becomes clear that Diana is struggling to manage her bi-polar disorder and there is a family tragedy and grief lying just below the surface and about to come roaring out despite their ever more frantic attempts to keep everything ‘normal’. 

With a great live band and some catchy rock,pop and ballad numbers it pretty much steams along with great vocal performances throughout.  The exploration of the treatment for mental health conditions feels pretty American.  Where are the waiting lists and delays? Instead we see bucketloads of drugs being handed over with seemingly little thought as to their consequences.  At its heart,  this is a moving family drama, looking at the effects of poor mental health and grief on a marriage and children as well as at an individual level.  

I thought both Jack Wolfe (Fabe) and Eleanor Worthington-Cox (Natalie) were impressive whilst  Caissie Levy ( Diana) managed to show the different layers of her character really well. Jamie Parker delivered a solid performance as Dan although the part seemed a bit underwritten and his lightbulb moments were a bit too late for proper resolution.

The crowd for this performance were much younger than average with the majority I would say under 30, and while that’s more common for a musical it was still notable, as was their enthusiasm, with whoops and cheers though out and a proper standing ovation across almost all of the house.

A hard watch in places, this is a musical with pretty valid trigger warnings.  Despite that, I enjoyed the way that two apparently very different things managed to find the common ground between trauma and musical, even managing to sneak in some (admittedly quite black) humour.   

A tough subject, but an interesting and enjoyable evening,