Writer: Danielle De Vries
Director: Tommy Boyce
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Humorous & Poignant“
4 / 5
Sam is grieving intensely, struggling to write the eulogy before the funeral, plagued with memories and things left unsaid. Reaching out to a psychiatrist for a course of online therapy, she’s certain that she’s made the right choice to help herself get back on her feet.
Sam’s (Danielle De Vries) amusingly eccentric therapist Dr. Whimsey (Nicole Bröhl) decides to recommend her a course of prescription drugs to help treat her anxiety and sleep withdrawal. While initially a blessing in disguise, as time progresses her tolerance gets higher and her dependence on the pills gets stronger. She begins to distance from her friends, locking herself away in the flat losing hours at a time stuck in a spiral of addiction, missing important events and breaking promises. She doesn’t think things can get any worse, but then she runs out of her pills and finds that withdrawal is the biggest struggle of them all.
Danielle De Vries ensures a well measured balance between comedy and poignancy within the script. It’s posed as a reimagining of the Persephone myth, but it’s strong enough to be viewed as a standalone storyline about addiction, suffering and grief. Sam’s journey spirals fast – the focus of the writing less about what got her to that point, and more about the fall out, and the navigation of her relationships as she tries to recover. Her depiction of addiction and withdrawal, is done well, with frequent sequences of movement to further explore the internal struggle.
Darren the Deliveroo drug dealer (Edd Pullen) is the unexpected gem of a character, that thanks to Pullen’s brilliantly natural comedic timing, shines through and becomes the fantastically funny backbone that holds the comedic side of the script together. His light-hearted, flippant attitude, and surprisingly touching words of advice are delivered well, and level out some of the more serious interactions. Her mother (Elinor Sumption) is barely around, and her best friends Jenny (Rianne Snape) and Nick (Alec Osborne) are obnoxious, self-centred and dismissive of Sam’s actual struggle – caring more about getting drunk or the sordid relationships the pair are involved in to truly even acknowledge her situation. They are portrayed well by the actors, and although their characters are purposefully mostly unlikeable, they add a realistic insight into relationships not always providing, noticing or understanding, even at the darkest moments.
Some more clarity on timelines could help strengthen the show, as the various house calls over an unknown period of time start to all blend together. A little more variety in the interactions, or a stronger structure to elapsed moments would help remove some of the mild monotony, and allow the narrative to grow more naturally. An interesting, enjoyable show, that is peppered with humorous moments within the otherwise emotive storyline, bought to life by a talented cast.
Runs until 20th August 2025
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