Review: HAPPY DEATHDAY, VAULT Festival

My mother says that the only certainty in life is death. People get very uncomfortable around death. It's become this taboo of sorts when it's just how life works. Leoni Amandin takes an original approach to the matter in a compassionate, surprisingly educational, funny celebration of mortality. Amandin, whose dad died unexpectedly during her first year of drama school, runs the audience through the logistics of dying as well as alternative graves and different cultural traditions associated with one's demise.

She often touches on elements that the majority of the public has never considered and analysed them laterally as being a natural part of cherishing someone. It's a refreshing normalisation of one of life's greatest griefs. The show never makes light of the delicate topic, but takes it in stride. She stresses the importance of rituals, inviting an end-of-life doula to the stage. Sabrina Singh explains what her role entails and, together, they explore how removing ourselves from the act of passing away has exacerbated the pain that comes with it.

Something that's emphasised multiple times is how crucial it is to have a plan. It might seem morbid, but we've generally all gone through a sudden loss not knowing how to navigate it. Amandin delicately pushes for a change in the funeral industry, from more ecological burials to a more personal attitude to grieving and supporting the grieving. While her text is careful in its sensitivity, she doesn't tiptoe around the subject.

Cheesy death jokes and some mild audience participation pepper the production and lighten the mood. This includes the collective creation of a haiku. That's how we'll leave you, with the shockingly deep impromptu wisdom our crowd produced:

Death is not the end

Or maybe it is, who knows?

Guess we'll have to see.

Like my mum would say, enjoy it while it lasts. Happy Deathday, everyone!

Happy Deathday runs at VAULT Festival until 24 February.

VAULT Festival has been left without a venue for next year. You can contribute to the #SaveVAULT campaign here.

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