Next To Normal

(From the previous run at the Donmar Warehouse, at the evening performance on 2nd September 2023). Some actors have now left the cast.

Of all the Broadway musicals the monkey has never seen (never been to New York), this has for many years been top by a mile on its wish-list. The CD it replays constantly, and it had a few ideas of what the show may be like.

Finally, the Donmar get the rights and it discovers that there are many twists known only to those who are lucky enough to get tickets to see it performed live. 

Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (book and lyrics) dissect not just the effect of bi-polar on a middle-aged American mother, but what it means for her loving family. Presented in a “concept musical” style reminiscent of 1970s Sondheim, we lurch from situation to situation, the highs and lows of incurable yet treatable psychosis.

Aided by some memorable songs (delivered brilliantly under Nick Barstow’s musical direction and crystal-clear thanks to Tony Gayle’s sound design), the cast deliver a mixture of the considered and a few genuinely shocking moments of drama, mixed with some sardonic gallows humour.

Caissie Levy as uninhibited patient Diana is full-belt when on a high, heart-breaking when acting illogically and beyond vulnerable when confused as a result of all the US medical system tries to throw at her. 

Married to Dan, Jamie Parker is long-suffering, quizzical yet always optimistic even as his wife crumbles, holding family and scenario together.

Daughter Natalie (Eleanor Worthington-Cox) scores a triumph as she determinedly fails to resist following her mother’s path. Sidelined, the high-point of the score “Superboy and The Invisible Girl” is delivered with a wealth of meaning. Self-preserving snarky asides on what fate deals her are endearingly scattered through the script, returned bullets extracted from her soul.

Her brother Gabe has Jack Wolfe on equally outstanding form. High-energy rock, clambering on every surface, a remarkable voice and stage presence.

Other man in her life, boyfriend Henry (Jack Ofrcio) gives an outsider’s perspective of this broken family environment. His tolerance and caring vision is perceptive beyond his years.

Also outside the family circle, playing both doctors Madden and Fine, Trevor Dion Nicholas goes from logical analyst in strongly written “My Psychopharmacologist and I” to struggling psychiatrist in the face of a tough resisting case.

With its broad concept and episodically natured structure, director Michael Longhurst and Movement Choreography assistant director Ann Yee are sometimes struggling to find what the authors do not provide to connect audiences with character emotions.

Barriers between the two raise as challenging emotional behaviour spirals and observers’ instincts are to look away and disengage to allow the sufferer to recover with dignity. Music and humour help but for every surprisingly involving sequence – you’ll hope-against-hope Diana’s memory recovers – there are colder, harder realities where it feels as if privacy is being uncomfortably invaded, treatments harsh and even incorrectly applied.

The confines of the tiny Donmar are perfect for such close-up literal psycho-drama, yet Chloe Lamford’s plush American home set feels rather too large, a revolving kitchen cabinet dominating, almost squeezing the actors to the sides and up a staircase.

On and around the furniture, the physical staging is equally inconsistent. Glittering musical theatre dance routines are inappropriate, yet music requires movement but there is no universal ‘dance language’ developed here. The result is some fluid moments for the teenagers, but also clunky ensemble dream-sequences which, while well-intentioned feel a shade too incongruous.

And that really sums up this curious piece. Daring to address a taboo in direct fashion, it is as splintered and contradictory as the illness itself. 

As those who have experienced mental illness know, there is a lot of discussion of “presence and absence” as the patient is asked to consider them both simultaneously. “Next to Normal” asks exactly that.

Stunningly performed, that which is here and that which is not may be frustrating at times, but even with something missing this is a complete and compelling piece of theatre.