Hi Life, I Win sees Me in a hospital bed, preparing to receive the results of a worrisome biopsy, and letting his mind take him on a flight of fancy that starts with amusing old school memories but winds its way through musings on mortality and the existence of God as the nostalgic haze of 90s popular culture references gives way to the more pressing concerns of what the future may or may not hold for him. In the wrong hands, this could well be unnecessarily grim but there’s a real deftness of touch here that lifts the spirit.
Directed by Ryan Bradley, Maddock delivers two smashing performance, suffused with a beautiful candid warmth that is both endearing and engaging and which feels entirely emotionally true. I’m of a similar enough age for many of the school-hood memories to really chime but so much of the writing reflects universal fears and funnies that it would be nigh-on impossible not to connect on some level. Charlie Marie Austin’s design is striking for its simplicity, allowing the attention to focus on the flow of words – sometimes poetic, sometimes pfunny, always powerful.
Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes (with interval)
Booking until 20th September
Photo: Hannah Ellis