Michael Rosen: Getting Through It – The Old Vic

Getting Through It is a poignant, inspiring, heartbreaking and heartwarming storytelling show by acclaimed children’s author Michael Rosen (We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Michael Rosen’s Sad Book).

Unlike Michael Rosen’s best-known work, Getting Through It is not aimed at children. The show is a double bill of two true, personal stories. The first – The Death of Eddie – is about the sudden death of Michael’s son Eddie to meningitis, and Michael’s subsequent grief. The second story – Many Kinds of Love – is about Michael’s 48-day stay in intensive care due to COVID-19. Despite the heavy subject matter of both stories, the show is life-affirming, humorous, and absolutely engaging.

Like in his children’s books, Michel’s language is simple and matter of fact. He chooses to describe events starkly and concisely, and only rarely directly describes in detail how he felt or what he thought as the events unfolded. The poignant moments therefore feel very organic, natural, and relatable; they are not disguised by flowery language designed to artificially tug at the heartstrings. This matter-of-fact approach ensures that the audience is allowed to exercise their own empathy and intelligence to put themselves in Michael’s shoes and the shoes of the other people in his stories.

The humour lands well, especially within the second story, which is the more comical of the two. It begins with an interesting structure; the story is told through tweets, emails, and diary entries, since Michael was either unconscious in a medically induced coma or he is unable to remember many of the events described. These messages from loved ones and strangers are full of warmth, humanity, hope, and humour. The rigid structure contrasts the first story, which gracefully dances around between a variety of memories, flashbacks, and tangents. The second story does eventually revert back to a looser structure once Michael regains consciousness and memory, and I found myself missing the more objective and structured approach, but it remained engaging, nonetheless.

Both stories are about the beautiful shared humanity that all people have in common. Without explicitly saying so, Michael seems to posit that no matter what you are going through, there will always be people willing to lend a supportive hand or a sympathetic ear. No matter how hard the situation is, someone will always have been in a similar situation and will be able to help you through. Other bereaved parents, steadfast family members, nurses, physiotherapists, and strangers can all be relied upon in their own way. Most importantly, no matter how long or short your life is, it will touch many, many people – loved ones and strangers alike – and leave a lasting impact on them.

Some other takeaways from the show are said explicitly. Michael concludes that grief is sadness that things aren’t the same as they used to be. But that since everything is constantly changing andno one can predict the future, the best a person can do is to cherish each moment in the present and hold on tightly to happy memories of the past.

Tour dates for Michael Rosen: Getting Through It can be found here: https://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/shows/

Reviewer: Charles Edward Pipe

Reviewed: 19th October 2025

North West End UK Rating: