Michael Rosen is best known for his children’s books and poems, perhaps most notably We’re All Going On A Bear Hunt. In Getting Through It, he presents a double bill of stories taken directly from his own life experience.
First, The Death of Eddie shares the story of the death of his teenage son, who went to bed with aches and never woke up. Aged 18, ‘big Eddie’, taller and stockier than his dad, a hockey player and stagehand who had dreams of the future, was gone.
Rosen references others who have lost their children, from friends to a stranger tending her son’s grave in Paris. He notes the curious feeling of remembering happy memories of Eddie while still grieving his death.
A joke his son told “about a man whose head was an orange” is mentioned, but not recalled. Vivid dreams are described; emptiness filled with “he’s not dead – he’s just not here”. The piece must be as cathartic to Rosen as it is inspirational to others in the same situation.
The second part of this afternoon’s show, Many Kinds of Love, is about that long road to recovery after 40 days in a coma in the ICU. It takes the form of ‘patient diary’ entries by healthcare workers, plus reflections on his own autonomy and mortality.
Although it is clear Rosen was close to death, he treats the situation with pragmatism and humour, while praising the care of an overworked NHS unit. Talk of “Covid toes” and the realisation that he was one of 55% admitted to the ICU who survived sit alongside his wife’s upbeat family updates.
Although both these pieces (read to us, with occasional asides and looks) are reflective and deeply moving, they are also funny, matter-of-fact, and inquisitive. Rosen approaches infection, the brain and the body in the way a child might do, asking questions and seeking to understand.
Getting Through It by Michael Rosen was at The Old Vic on 19 Oct as part of its current tour. For more dates and ticket links, go to his website.
4 stars.