The Story of My Life ★★★★★ Stage Door Theatre | Sep 10 - Oct 19, 2024


Thomas Weaver is a best selling author, who returns to his small town to deliver the eulogy for his childhood friend, Alvin Kelby, with whom he has almost lost contact. That moment causes him to recall the memories which he has mined for his stories, while simultaneously forcing him to reconsider the power of that friendship and his part in its decline. He comes to realise that nerdy and needy Alvin, who shared his obsession with the film, It's A Wonderful Life, has really been his muse. And, despite Alvin's seemingly small life, through his sharing of his sense of wonder at the world, he has actually had a far reaching effect. Neil Bartram and Brian Hill's musical riff on the perennial Christmas film's theme and also on the so-called butterfly effect produces a small touching tale that works beautifully in the intimate venue of the Stage Door Theatre. It is a setting which allows the two principals, Markus Sodergren and Tim Edwards, to make a direct emotional connection with the audience, and both manage to do so. As Thomas, Sodergren succeeds in adroitly capturing his character's unthinking desire to fit in and to succeed, along with his unsettling anguish as he looks back on what he has sacrificed and discarded along the way. His rendition of "I Like It Here" is masterful. While both performers do a fine job of not overplaying the scenes in which they are children, Edwards is brilliantly convincing as Alvin who manages to carry the quality of childlike innocence and vulnerability into adulthood. While Alvin's unworldliness may make Thomas uneasy, Edwards manages to make it convincing and not cloying for the audience. This is no small feat, and it is a top-notch performance to which he manages to bring a nice comic element in songs like "Mrs. Remington." The show's concluding numbers "This Is It" and "Angels in the Snow" nicely capture the balance of realism and optimism that inform the piece, and make Thomas' eulogy, and this show, a true celebration of life.

Rated: ★★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Peter Davies

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Map & Location: 150 Drury Ln, London WC2E 9LB, UK

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