This three-hander, Make It Count, by James Sweeney, starts as a light comedy but takes an interesting turn at the halfway point.
Jonas, a young lawyer (Brayden Kerr), chokes in bed and finds himself meeting the Grim Reaper’s ineffective husband, Noah (Derek Hodges), as a result of an administrative mistake.
Noah requests a second chance and returns to start his life with his wife Lisa (Laura Thompson), again. What would you do if you could re-live your life and perhaps make different choices?
Could you resist the temptation to make your life ‘better’? Make It Count is funny, perceptive, and extremely well-written, with characters who really feel well drawn.
Kerr is good as the man who is the architect of his own downfall, living through the lens of support and improvement while wielding a wrecking ball through what was a loving and equal marriage. “Because I did a few things differently, nothing will be the same?”
It’s amusing to hear Noah talking about his wife “Grim”, her spa days and craft room, while moving through scenes with both resignation and gusto. It’s a lovely, reflective and rounded performance that also acts as serious narrator, stepping into scenes with his white suit.
Make It Count is full of the what-ifs we often ask ourselves as life progresses. There is a twist at the end of Act One that subverts our expectations and veers more into serious territory.
Thompson comes into her own later in the play, offering a vivid glimpse into how a life can be turned on its head if you have the chance to do it. To quote the show, “people think that knowing the future makes you more powerful – mostly, it just makes you more careless”.
Poignant and heartfelt by the end, Make It Count is a clever play that deserves more exposure.
4 stars.
Make It Count played at Louth Riverhead Theatre and Bridge House Theatre, London, earlier this year.