First performed at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Happy Yet? is the first play from 22-year-old Swedish playwright Katie Berglöf.  Written as a response to her own experience of mental illness within the family, the production hopes to challenge current misunderstandings surrounding anxiety, depression and mood disorders. Having been reworked and expanded since 2016, Happy Yet? now makes its London debut at the Courtyard Theatre with a fresh cast and creative team, Above the Moon Productions.

Told from an attic apartment in Stockholm, Happy Yet? follows the life of Torsten Sandqvist and his close family. For 15 years he has lived as a permanent guest in the home belonging to his brother and sister-in-law, and aged 40, he is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Now the battleground is not only limited to his mind, but also consumes his surrounding environment and all those who are closest to him. Torsten’s young niece Nina seems to be the only person who can see past his financial and romantic impulsivity, but even her emotional intelligence can only touch the surface of her uncle’s complicated relationship with the world.

Designed by Andrew Ioannou, the bare pallet of the set allows for a hint of Scandinavian minimalism. A makeshift window hangs on a slant over the stage, overlooking a large bed, an assortment of side tables and a pale floor lamp. The furniture loiters around sheets of paper that litter the floor while a chessboard sits precariously near the elbow of Nina, who is sitting in an armchair on the edge of the action. Her foot is in plaster, and she looks on as her uncle turns beneath the sheets of his bed, apparently in some degree of distress.

Unfortunately, Ioannou has neglected to make proper use of the space. Most of the setting is swallowed by the bodies of those audience members sat at the front, with the majority of the action disappearing along with it. Consequently, the act of spectatorship begins with great discomfort and it is a shame that the performance fails to provide a tonic with enough power to remedy this problem. A slow start strains under the weight of ungainly exposition, and Torsten (played by David Beatty) is portrayed with such Hamlet-esque immaturity that it immediately becomes overly difficult to sympathise with him. Beatty’s performance is consistently jarring and he navigates Torsten’s turbulent emotional state with little intensity. In addition, a man of Torsten’s years appears to be well above Beatty’s playing age, which terminates the notion of believability at the very heart of the production.

The narrative promises huge dramatic potential, but Berglöf’s script remains underdeveloped throughout. The structure eradicates any prospect of tension; its scenes too short to allow any growth of character or elaboration on the events that occur within it. Each episode is dramatised in such a way that it is made to feel unrealistic, in particular there is an appointment with a therapist that verges on the absurd. However, Nina (played by Minnie Murphy) does demonstrate flashes of overwhelming sadness. The words “why can’t you just be happy?” produces – for a moment – the exhausting reality of living with somebody that suffers with a mental health condition.

Above the Moon’s commitment to address the language with which mental illness is understood is not without praise. This project has significant potential to become both impactful and relatable, but in its present condition, it is unable to manage either. Happy Yet? is disappointing, but with refinement it could wholeheartedly contribute to the conversation surrounding one of the most serious epidemics of our time.

Happy Yet? played at the Courtyard Theatre until October 28 2017

Photo: Courtyard Theatre