Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (reviewed Wednesday 18 September).
It’s never too late to learn life’s greatest lessons, even if you’re dead. Death of a People Pleaser by writer, director and co-producer Kelly Nicholson is a whimsical and imaginative adventure in the world of the afterlife, where a newly deceased character named Mary must resolve some earth-bound issues before her soul can move on. To do this, she is conscripted to the position of Grim Reaper by the customer service department of births, deaths and marriages (the heavenly equivalent).
It’s pleasing to see the play come to life with all the elements that makes a play engaging and fun; interesting characters and scenarios that give us little problems to follow in every scene, like breadcrumbs. The character of Mary (Isabelle Rienits) is faced with one obstacle after another – winning her boyfriend’s approval, learning the ropes of a tough job she never signed up for, learning to deliver bad news, and learning to connect with people on a deeper, emotional level, until finally she is able to confront her own feelings and work on herself. You see, the thing is, Mary is a chronic people pleaser, and she’s okay with that (sort of) until she realises just how much of her own wants and needs have been crushed, suppressed, ignored. Does her boyfriend even care about her death? Does she have enough fire and vengeance in her phantom body to reap his soul when his time is up?
The style of comedy is very campy, engaging and fun. There is a lot of hysterics, shouting and screaming which leans into the Joey King camp of comedy, but if you liked her scenes in A Family Affair (I did) you will definitely appreciate the humour here.
The various death scenes are ridiculously hilarious, particularly the man with the sausage intestines hanging out. More of a sight gag than anything too gross.
There’s a nice big reveal towards the end when potty mouthed Grim Reaper Murray (Bryson Grenfell) connects with a human soul that he deeply cares about.
Susan McMurdo absolutely slays as a spiritual earth-mother who smiles through everyone’s bullshit, until she can’t take it anymore. The divine feminine energy is very present in her character of Ruth.
The character list is quite impressive for a short play, and all actors are committed to being very real, relatable and believable, whilst also maintaining that tongue-in-cheek delivery of the strange circumstances they find themselves in. At times, the script can feel a little busy and inconsistent (can the Grim Reapers actually be seen by non-dead humans?) which leads to wordy and rushed expositions.
That said though, Death of a People Pleaser is an exciting original play that I definitely look forward to seeing again in its next life.
Death of a People Pleaser is playing at Erskineville Town Hall as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival until 21 September. For tickets and showtimes, go to https://sydneyfringe.com/events/death-of-a-people-pleaser/
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Credits:
- Presented by – Atomic Darlings, Kelly Nicholson and Natanyah Forbes
- Writer/ Director/ Co-Producer – Kelly Nicholson
- Susan/ Co-Producer – Natanyah Forbes
- Mary – Isabelle Rienits
- Murray – Bryson Grenfell
- Ned / Patrick – Brandon Fairley
- Gareth / Trent / Steve – Shaun Foley
- Mrs Hunt / God / Ruth – Susan McMurdo