Heaven – Southwark Playhouse

Of all the events in the social calendar, there are few with such potential to cause rifts, drama, and an onslaught of confusing emotions as a family wedding. In Eugene O’Brien’s Heaven, it’s this event that offers us a lens through which to observe the floundering marriage of long-time spouses Mal (Andrew Bennett) and Mairead (Janet Moran).

While both characters are featured throughout, we never see them interact, instead hearing their differing accounts of Mairead’s sister’s wedding through a series of alternating monologues in which both characters speak candidly to the audience.

As well as painting a colourful picture of the wedding, dancefloor scraps and dodgy speeches included, Mairead and Mal give the audience highly personal and often vulnerable insights into their lives and relationship with each other. The pair couldn’t be more dissimilar, with Mal’s straight-laced persona seemingly the perfect foil for Mairead’s wild-spirited (if somewhat bolshy) energy.

But as the play progresses and more threads of their lives begin to unravel, we see how both Mal and Mairead are hiding their own shadows they’re trying to run away from. This creates a compelling dramatic tension as the play shifts between the two different narratives, which are told superbly by Bennett and Moran.

There’s a lot of humour present throughout Heaven, which the two performers really sink their teeth into. Bennett shines through the physical comedy and character work that arise as part of Mal’s story, particularly as the night of the wedding takes a debaucherous turn. Moran, meanwhile, oozes devilish charm as she delivers Mairead’s sardonic one-liners and put-downs with a naughty glint in her eye.

Heaven is currently a one-act play running at 90 minutes, but I actually think there could be scope to extend this further and explore the implications of the play’s final surprising moments in even greater depth. But as it stands, director Jim Culleton has deftly captured an illuminating depiction of marriage, aging, and regret that is equal parts entertaining and poignant.

Heaven is at Southwark Playhouse until 22nd February. Buy tickets from: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/heaven/

Reviewer: Olivia Cox

Reviewed: 7th February 2025

North West End UK Rating: