On The Other Hand We’re Happy, Daf James’ insightful look at a British couple’s efforts to adopt, not only marks an exciting return for Rogue Machine, it’s a perfect example of a story best told, not as a movie or miniseries, but on a nearly bare stage with just three remarkable actors bringing at least twice as many characters to vivid life.

Londoners Josh (Christian Telesmar) and Abby (Rori Flynn) would make ideal parents, which is why news that Josh’s sperm just don’t cut it proves all the harder to hear, particularly after a rapid-fire sequence of brief comedic scenes has made it clear how lucky a child would be to call them Mum and Dad.

Not that Josh and Abby have any intention of calling it quits on parenthood, eventually concluding that adoption would be the most sensible route, or at least the one best suited to them as a couple. (Despite Josh’s protests to the contrary, Abby knows in her heart that her boyfriend wouldn’t be okay with a child that’s biologically hers but not his, which is why a sperm donor is out.)

And so the young couple (now husband and wife) begin considering which factors are worth discussing (genetic risk of mental illness, learning disability) and which are unacceptable (genetic risk of physical illness), eventually singling out Tyler, a four-year-old girl who has recently arrived in foster placement following frequent exposure to parental substance abuse and domestic violence.

Along the way, we learn plenty about the adoption process, or at least how things work in England.

We even get to meet Tyler (Alexandra Hellquist), though not as a preschool-aged child up for adoption, but as a grown-up apparently not raised by Abby and Josh.

And that’s all I dare reveal about On The Other Hand We’re Happy’s decades-spanning plot because what happens next …

What I can tell you is that Telesmar, Flynn, and Hellquist get to play at least two roles each, among them Tyler’s birth parents and the social worker assigned to her case, which means plenty of juicy meat for three L.A. theater stars to sink their teeth into to often stunning effect, and never more so than when switching instananeously from one character to another—just one of many several reasons why James’ three-hander is such a uniquely “live-theater experience.”

Another is the fourth-wall breaking that has characters interacting from time to time with the audience. (“Let’s see by a show of hands whether you’d consider adopting a child with HIV.”) Yet another are the split-second shifts from scene to scene, from present to future to past and back again.

Director Cameron Watson once again proves himself a master at theatrical storytelling while inspiring the best from three of the most talented, charismatic young actors in town.

Among Watson’s cleverest touches is his decision to reconfigure the Matrix Theatre (Rogue Machine’s new home and a major improvement on their out-of-the-way former Venice digs) to have audience members seated on either side of the Matrix’s widescreen stage.

Though this type of arrangement has proven distracting more than once in the past dozen years, it’s precisely the right set-up for for a play whose audience is both observer and participant.

Performed on a nearly bare, prop-free stage with only one outfit per performer (courtesy of costumer Kate Bergh), On The Other Hand We’re Happy surrounds its audience in a womb-like cocoon (an inspired Stephanie Kerley Schwartz touch), providing lighting designer Jared A. Sayeg and sound designer Christopher Moscatiello ample opportunities to work their magic while letting our imaginations do the rest.

Ron Bottitta has coached the cast on an assortment of mostly accurate UK accents and fight director Bjorn Johnson has staged a sequence depicting the violence that was part of Tyler’s birth parents’ tumultuous relationship.

On The Other Hand We’re Happy is produced by John Perrin Flynn and Justin Okin. Fiona Stayton is assistant director. David Mauer is technical director. Victoria Hoffman is casting director. Rachel Manheimer is stage manager.

It’s been over two years since Earthquakes In London managed to complete its run just days before everything shut down, making it a long-awaited delight for me to welcome Rogue Machine back with On The Other Hand We’re Happy. This emotional roller-coaster ride is as fulfilling as it is uplifting.

Rogue Machine at the Matrix, 7657 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles. Through April 19. Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:30. Sundays at 3:00.
www.roguemachinetheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
March 13, 2022
Photos: John Perrin Flynn

Tags: Daf James, Los Angeles Theater Review, Matrix Theatre, Rogue Machine Theatre