'Reasons to be Happy' Hampstead Theatre ****

We all crave to be happy in our lives, nevertheless, there are extenuating circumstances where delirium can be conflicting when it comes to relationships and parenting. The Hampstead Theatre’s production of Neil Labute’s current play, ‘Reasons to be Happy’ which is a follow up to his 2013 play, ‘Reasons to be Pretty’ was a distinctively written piece that truly conveys about getting older, romance, friendships and most significantly people who do not know about what to do, as well as, the performances were swell throughout.

‘Reasons to be Happy’ is set in an incognito city in the US where we’re habituated with Greg, Steph, Carly and Kent who some years later have gone through a strange period when it comes to their relationship status. Greg who split up with Steph three years before is seeing Carly and Kent and Carly who were once joined in holy matrimony have a child together are now divorced. When Greg and Steph are suddenly reunited, they establish an understanding that they still have feelings for each other and embark on a sordid affair, be that as it may, what is most disturbing is that Greg is in fact a friend of Kent’s so an abundant amount of deception is at bay here. We can see that Kent does not think too highly of himself, on the other hand, he does come across too moody and he feels too apologetic for himself so we lose some sympathy towards him. Throughout the show, Greg and Steph have to retain their secret meetings; as such, when they try to have a date at a restaurant, they’re extremely concerned  that they’ll be caught by someone who knows Kent and Carly, however, they muster up the courage to bite the bull be the horns and venture inside.  There’s a lot of conflict that arises between Kent and Carly which is because of the welfare of their child and due to the fact that they work at the same place of work, tension is rife. Greg asks Steph to see him at work, which is a teacher soon to be a university lecturer informs Steph that he has been offered a job in New York City and asks Steph to join him. Of course Steph is a little startled by Greg’s news; nonetheless, she thinks it may be an opportunity for her to not refuse.  Things get a bit too much for Kent when he breaks down in tears to Greg as he has had enough of how Carly has been treating him over their child also how badly work is going as of late. Over the course of the performance, we see a different side to Greg who we learn that he is a sex addict and quite frankly enormously deluded as it is understood that he has had a relationship with Carly and he invites her to New York City too. Noticeably, both women are flabbergasted by Greg’s plans, thankfully for Steph, Carly declines Greg’s offer and wants nothing to do with him anymore. At the finale, emotions are running high as Steph makes a decision that it’s best for Greg to move to New York City on his own and learn about himself before she moves over there with him. Labute’s narrative is excellent as we are given such an in-depth insight into a strange combination of relationships and the struggle of being in love that is so out of reach that the ultimate conclusion is that it might be the best solution for them to be a part.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Reasons to be Happy’ to be fantastically portrayed as they captured the raw emotions and the constant niggles which are rather huge and this is done through convincing dialogue. Tom Burke is remarkable as Greg; especially how we see that he has so many problems with really comprehending how he sees relationships i.e. with Carly and Steph; moreover, he does appear to show that he has a real fondness for Steph compared to his feelings for Carly. Lauren O’Neil is brilliant as Greg’s love-interest, Steph; principally how we can see that even though she is having some form of an thing with Greg but she doesn’t want to upset Kent’s feelings, yet, we can see that she is besotted by Greg and that when he somewhat betrays her you can still see the love in her eyes. Robyn Addison is towering as Kent’s ex-wife, Carly; particularly how repulsed she is when she even sets her sights on Kent, but, what is most irritating as her attitude towards the situation that is their child as we know that Kent completely loves his child and that she’s upsetting him and that is not fair whatsoever. Warren Brown is stately as down on his luck, Kent; expressly where we see him not being afraid to show his emotions such as crying because his life is going through a really rough patch and that is because of his ex-spouse who is refusing to allow him to see his child and that is not helping his situation.

Michael Attenborough’s direction is majestic here as he has been able to bring into focus how relationships can be attracted together and in some scenarios can be forced apart and this is what life is a part, and that it is a learning process. Furthermore, the characterisations were fully defined as we can see how the funny and heart-wrenching moments are brought together in such a striking manner. Soutra Gilmour’s design is crackerjack as the stage revolve shows each place in the show to a wondrous fashion and the scenic art and construction are resplendent because the minor details are just great and of course Oliver Fenwick’s lighting design suggests the dark that is lying underneath each character’s journey. Overall, the experience of, ‘Reasons to be Happy’ was an consequential production that encapsulated the whole range of relationship traumas and turmoil such as being a sex addict and the duplicity of friendships.