Theatre Review: Wish You Weren’t Here, Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Sheffield
Olivia Pentelow (Mila) and Eleanor Henderson (Lorna) in Wish You Weren’t Here. Image credit: Chris Saunders
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“I might not be able to drive legally, but I’m pretty nifty in a dodgem”
Family relationships… there are never two families the same. This beautiful two-woman theatre production captures this perfectly. It’s different, and it’s complex, but one thing is for sure, it tugs at your heartstrings. The play follows a single mother and her teenage daughter who finally get to spend some quality time together after Mila has worked hard on her GCSEs. They go to visit a family-favourite holiday destination, Scarborough, and even treat themselves to a ‘premium’ room! But, with life stresses of GCSE season and the loss of Mila’s Grandmother - Lorna’s mother - tensions are high and some arguments about Mila’s childhood arise. This hilarious production will make you laugh one minute and cry the next, exactly like your family!
As soon as the show begins you instantly get a sense of the relationship that Eleanor Henderson (Lorna) and Olivia Pentelow (Mila) have created behind the scenes. You feel the warmth of a loving mother-daughter relationship so easily, they are the perfect pairing for this role. What’s amazing about this, is that in so many shows you need a whole ensemble to make a story. But with ‘Wish You Weren’t Here’ any other characters on stage would’ve been completely unnecessary, it would have detracted from the tone. Henderson and Pentelow captured the story brilliantly on their own, and at no point did the audience get bored of seeing the same two characters - instead, you fall in love with their story, and all you want to focus on is Lorna and Mila’s holiday.
This story has so much potential to highlight the issues that come with growing up in today’s society, what it’s like raising a child alone in today’s society, and possibly most importantly, the different lived experiences a child may have growing up in this society as a mixed-race child. Some really powerful issues were talked about in this production, however, it felt as though they needed to be delved into much more. Although they were mentioned, it was a little surface level and it was hard to see how they were followed through, perhaps time could’ve been used more efficiently in this case. With the show only being an hour long it would’ve been great to focus on these and get into the depths of them, rather than spending a lot of time on days and nights out.
For instance, in the middle of an argument Lorna, in rage, blurts out that when she was pregnant with Mila her mother wanted to disregard the child as she would’ve been mixed race. Throughout the story it’s evident that Mila adored her grandmother and was absolutely distraught by the loss of her, so to hear this about how her grandmother originally felt broke her. This was such a touching scene that a lot of mixed-race children have to go through when they come into this world. I felt however that nothing really came of this in the story. It was mentioned, apologies were made, and it felt like Mila got over it very easily. Which, yes, this may happen in some cases but it really could’ve been the chance to develop on this and show more of how it can affect someone, to be told that the person you loved most in this world, didn’t accept you for who you were at first. The potential for this show to be so powerful is absolutely there, and with a bit of fine-tuning it could be incredible. A bit of a deeper focus on one or two of the issues mentioned in the storyline really could’ve made that happen. In it’s current form it feels like a great piece to bring into schools to start discussions, to get young people thinking deeper, and understanding others experiences.
The reactions at the end of the show were so varied throughout the audience and this truly depends on whether it touched you emotionally or not. Some people found it especially moving and were brought to tears whereas others seemed less emotional. It depends on how much the story personally impacts the audience members. Whilst there is room for growth this show is tackling topics we need to be talking about whilst also being without a doubt hilarious and gripping. It’s amazing what two actors can do with a few tables, a couple of props and a real off-stage friendship!