Former Children’s Laureate, poet, and author Michael Rosen is set to debut his new one-man show, Getting Through It, at The Old Vic on Sunday, October 19, at 2 p.m. This London premiere promises to be a powerful and deeply personal combination of monologues and poetry, delving into themes of love, loss, and mortality.
The first segment, The Death of Eddie, poignantly reflects on the sudden loss of Rosen’s 18-year-old son to meningitis. Building on the themes of his children’s book The Sad Book, this part captures the intricate emotions that accompany such a profound loss with vivid, poetic imagery.
In the second segment, Many Kinds of Love, Rosen shares his own experiences battling COVID-19, which resulted in a 48-day stay in intensive care. He candidly reflects on confronting his own mortality with his trademark blend of positivity, humor, and poetry. Together, these segments create a powerful testament to resilience and the spirit of recovery.
Rosen describes the show as a mosaic of life experiences, a means to process the “big stuff” he has faced and share it with others. “I hope it encourages more people to engage in conversations about all that life presents us,” he remarked.
Getting Through It marks a new chapter for the beloved author, renowned for children’s classics like We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and his extensive body of work for both children and adults.
