Half a Person: My Life as Told by The Smiths

Any show which invokes the Smiths in its title implies a certain degree of doom and gloom, and Half a Person wholly lives up, or perhaps down, to this promise. Following the trials and tribulations of its protagonist, William, the play touches upon sex, love and death, set to the backdrop of Morrissey’s haunting tones.

A one man show inevitably requires a talented individual to carry the entire performance, and actor Joseph Murray is engaging and affable in his portrayal of a lovelorn, twenty-something Smiths obsessive. Recounting the moment he met the love of his life in a coffee shop and the subsequent downward spiral that ensued, the story flits from comedy to catastrophe as the very real pains of human existence are explored.

But amiable as Murray is, the performance is lacking in a certain rawness: a slight disconnect in communicating what he is saying with the blistering sadness it requires. When William talks of the decline and eventual death of not only his relationship but his best friend, a poignancy seems somewhat absent.

Murray also sings many of the songs rather than playing the original tracks, and one cannot help but think that he might be better equipped to tap into his emotions if he was reacting to the words as sung by Morrissey, rather than himself. This bittersweet tale undeniably has its good moments, but falls some way short of producing a truly meaningful piece of theatre.