Yesterday, we told you not to do too much research before going to see Vera and the Sea. Today we're advising young whippersnappers, who might not have that good a memory of the history of the Labour party during the 1990s, to perhaps have a quick scan of the Wikipedia page. Go on. It'll save a lot of head scratching later.
The last thing we'd want is for anyone to see Happy Being As Happy As I Am and be distracted by trying to work out the references. Because we bloody loved it. This three-hander is a play in true Fringe tradition, about ideas and theories and what would happen if you made this small decision rather than that one. It could easily have slipped into tedious pontificating but heads off any detours into chin-stroking territory by keeping a sense of humour, and undercutting the speechifying with "the dog" (we're still trying to work out if "the dog" is a metaphorical construct as well as an opportunity for some great character acting).
This is an intriguing, smart and funny play; it's got enough balls to mess with timelines and to start with several dialogue-less minutes. Well worth an hour of your time.
Happy Being As Happy As I Am runs until Sunday. Camden Fringe runs until 30th August. All tickets £7.50. Check out other Fringe coverage on Londonist.
