The latest show to be brought to Edinburgh by comedy duo Jonny Donahoe and Paddy Gervers opens in blackout with Jonny supposedly speaking to the recorded voice-over announcer that we hear at the start of every Assembly show. The lights come up on a nautical set and backdrop, which is apparently because they told the Arts Council they are doing The Tempest.
The show combines an examination of mental health issues—both have frequently discussed their struggles with mental health, Jonny with ADHD and Paddy with depression—with an examination of fourteen years of Tory rule. The title comes from a survey that David Cameron ordered at the start of his rule as PM to show how happy the nation was at that point, with the intention of showing how much happier we all were after he had been in charge for ten years or so. Things didn’t quite work out that way.
Cameron is act I of the story, with Teresa May as act II, etc (act IV is the shortest). They mention their Stop UKIP show, which the party of free speech tried to have banned, and give a history of arts funding, as well as an attack on the wellness and self-care industry.
But this is also about those whom they label “neurodelightful”, including themselves, as opposed to the “neuromundane” (they said that they have badges for sale with both terms, but the latter aren’t selling as well). The focus turns particularly onto Paddy and how his antidepressant medication has changed frequently to find something that works for him.
This is punctuated by lots of very funny asides and songs, although they don’t feel quite as punchy without Paddy’s percussive acoustic guitar (he is currently unable to play, so the longer musical numbers use backing tracks while the shorter ones are sung a cappella), and some wild dancing from Jonny (the front of house staff didn’t seem to know he would dance out of the venue and back).
The ending, where Jonny puts on Paddy’s late mother’s dress and pretends to be her, is funny, disturbing and quite moving in equal measure, and certainly not a direction that any other comedy show on the Fringe is likely to take.
While not as riotously funny as some of their shows and with the political satire very much present but perhaps less prominent than usual, The Happiness Index makes salient points about important issues in a very entertaining way while raising a few belly laughs and perhaps an occasional lump in the throat.