We are in death’s waiting room, where the Angel of Death goads us to justify our existence via a TV-style quiz show. A house band in suits and trilbys provides solid grooves. With a good dose of light comedy, we come face to face with our mortality and are inspired to live a more worthwhile life. The concept of the Angel of Death Will See You Now is delicious. With some more streamlined writing, this could be a delicious show.
As we’re ushered in by ‘the Sisters of Mercy’ – actually members of the choir Women of Note, whose backing singing in the show really elevates it musically – we are given a goodie bag including a pen and paper, and a form to fill out in which we have to write what we spend most of our lives doing, and what we would most like to do with the time we have left. We are engaged from the off, profoundly and personally, in the themes of the show.
The stage is set beautifully, both literally and metaphorically. The production design is excellent, focusing on simple contrasts – signs indicate ‘life’ and ‘death’, the colours are black and white with touches of red. It’s arresting and engaging, and nothing is more arresting and engaging than the title of the show itself – ‘The Angel of Death Will See You Now’. What a great title. Projected onto a screen at the back of the stage, it both introduces us to the show and establishes with great immediacy what the situation is, and that we are involved.
When the show starts, it takes a while to get back to this clear tone and setting that seems to have been established. A couple of monologues from our two main characters – one in rhyme, one in a sort of mystical prose, both types of language that never return – give us backstory but take us out of the immediacy of the idea that we are all here together in death’s waiting room.
James, played with steady earnestness by James Mannion, the writer of the piece, has suffered a fatal mugging and must now face Cathy Cardin’s Angel of Death, a merciless quizmaster who is not entirely happy with her own existence.
Once we’re back in the world of death’s waiting room, the fun really begins. The Angel of Death engages directly with the audience and tells us of how nothing brings her more joy than TV quiz shows – cue my favourite song of the night, where we as the audience get to join in singing “Countdown! Pointless! QI!” etc. “Eggheads gives me ecstasy” was a line I particularly enjoyed. Other audience interaction involved us getting to do a countdown word challenge and come up for synonyms for death. “I’m loving this”, said someone behind me as we got to pull out our pens and bits of paper once more.
The songs were genuinely impressive, well-crafted and with some beautiful melodies. Some, like the aforementioned quiz show song, related clearly to the narrative. Other songs stood apart from the narrative, working more to punctuate it and create mood, often adding ideas that were never mentioned in dialogue before or after. There’s a song in my head at the moment, with a beautiful melody, starting “love of my life, I am trying to get through, I hope that this message rebounds from the moon to you”. What a gorgeous lyrical phrase. Who or what the love of his life was, however, was never made clear, and never mentioned again. It would have been a lovely addition to the story.
The philosophical thread of The Angel of Death Will See You Now snakes through various themes. At one point we were treated to the novel and exciting experience of a science teacher being held to account, and the question of whether teaching really is a justified use of one’s life, when one in three people leave school feeling like a failure. It’s a theme big enough for a whole show of its own. The answer that the show landed on for the most valuable way for James to have spent his life was for him to follow his dreams, ie write a novel. This was wrapped in some powerful ideas: that you always have a choice, and it’s fear of failure that stops you, and once you shred your fears, you can do what you really want to do.
A twist towards the end injects some new life, with a standout performance from Adam Onyett as a character not previously heard from. More ideas are unearthed to do with coding and AI, and the show ends on an energetic, albeit slightly baffling, note.
A lot of passion has clearly gone into creating this ambitious piece of theatre, and there’s lots in it to enjoy. James Mannion is a gifted songwriter with plenty of fun ideas, and the central concept of this show is powerful. With the writing developed further to give the scenes and songs more consistency and clarity, this could be a powerful piece of musical theatre.
