Reasons to be Happy is Neil LaBute’s sequel to
Reasons to be Pretty, which
was itself part of a loose trilogy about body image with
The Shape of Things and
Fat Pig. Director Michael Attenborough returns to the four characters from the first
play and brings a lot with him, including Soutra Gilmour's unusual shipping
container set, a soundtrack inexplicably dominated by Queen songs (except this time
there's an equally baffling diversion into Genesis,) and the leading man, Tom Burke,
who once again plays Greg, now a substitute English teacher. The venue has changed though - Attenborough no longer
runs the Almeida so has returned to Hampstead - and so have the rest of the cast,
playing the man and two women closest to Greg, as he discovers the pitfalls of
dating within a small circle of friends.
