Categories: REVIEWS

Good Grief – Platform Presents and Finite Films

Written by Lorien Haynes and Directed by Natalie Abrahami, Good Grief is a romantic comedy which takes us on a journey of loss, hurt, love and memories.

Filmed on location at Coptic Street Studios, London, the one act piece follows Adam (Nikesh Patel) and Cat (Sian Clifford) after the loss of someone close to them over a 10-month period, taking us through different scenarios and many different emotions.

The piece takes place in one room which is dressed between ‘scenes’ to create different places, from a living room to a car park and even a hotel room. The set is extremely basic, using chairs and cardboard boxes to build different looks and situations. At first this comes across as quite bland and uninspiring but as I went with the piece, I started to feel the lack of scenery reflected the feeling of grief the characters were experiencing. The emptiness and sadness were emulated in the scenery.

Patel delivered the different emotions of grief extremely well, sometimes coping, and other times at a complete loss whereas Clifford added a little humour throughout while still portraying different aspects of grief.

In between ‘scenes’ we see the crew changing the set which reminds us of the people who are working behind the scenes to bring a play together. There was a point in the first section which I found took me out of the story where the reflection in a shiny cycle helmet showed the camera person and sound person, possibly intentional, but took me away from fully immersing in the story at that point.

In times where Coronavirus is ruling the world, it was refreshing to see two actors touch, kiss and bring a little normality to our lives.

A nice, simple piece that talks about how grief is real and it’s a journey that takes time while injecting a little bit of theatre back into our lives.

Good Grief is available to watch online from the 15th February https://originaltheatreonline.com/productions/13/good-grief

Reviewer: Damian Riverol

Reviewed: 12th February 2021

North West End UK Rating: ★★★

Paul Downham

Recent Posts

Distant Memories of the Near Future – Arcola Theatre

In the near future, love is just another commodity driven by an app called Q-pid.…

2 hours ago

Blue Stockings – New Wimbledon Theatre

Behold, a young lady pursuing education, clamouring for the right to graduate, wanting to perform…

2 hours ago

Albert Herring – Festival Theatre

On Wednesday night, Scottish Opera brought Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring to the Festival Theatre in…

5 hours ago

Opera North: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Lowry

There’s nothing tragic about the mirth and magic of Opera North’s wonderful production, a second…

5 hours ago

After the Act – HOME Mcr

A new musical inspired by the nationwide societal impacts of Section 28, After the Act…

5 hours ago

Dear Evan Hansen – Liverpool Empire

The classic saying always favours the book over the film of story but when a…

5 hours ago