![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Dear-Evan-Hansen-PROD-TWI-5383-Enhanced-NR-e1750378659610.jpg\")
Photo: Supplied.<\/p>\nFew musicals tap into the contradictions of the digital age \u2013 hyper-connection, deep loneliness \u2013
as powerfully as Dear Evan Hansen. Now touring the UK and Ireland, this modern classic tells a
story where grief, lies and viral fame collide with unsettling force. It\u2019s a production that feels
more relevant than ever, exploring how online narratives spiral beyond control \u2013 and how easily
compassion blurs into performance.<\/p>\n
Evan Hansen (Ryan Kopel), a painfully anxious teenager, is encouraged by his therapist to write
daily letters to himself. When one of these is found on the body of Connor Murphy \u2013 a troubled
classmate who has taken his own life \u2013 it\u2019s mistaken for a suicide note. Evan seizes the moment
to comfort Connor\u2019s grieving family, pretending they were close friends. What begins as a well-
meaning lie quickly snowballs into viral mythology, turning Evan into an unwitting poster boy for
teen mental health awareness. Backdated emails, tribute videos and social media adoration
build a persona he can\u2019t control. The result is a persistent, uncomfortable question: does the
comfort he provides outweigh the deception that fuels it?<\/p>\n
Kopel is extraordinary. He captures Evan\u2019s fragility with remarkable specificity \u2013 fingers
twitching, words spilling out in panicked bursts, his hunched posture a constant apology for his
own existence. His falsetto floats like an escape hatch, a release valve from the pressure of
being. He doesn\u2019t just play Evan \u2013 he inhabits him, delivering a performance that\u2019s raw,
recognisable and painfully real.<\/p>\n
Across the board, performances are tightly drawn and sharply delivered. Alice Fearn brings
aching authenticity to Heidi, Evan\u2019s overworked mother, struggling to connect with a son who
won\u2019t let her in. Lauren Conroy, as Zoe Murphy, is emotionally guarded \u2013 her wariness a quiet
resistance to the ways grief is being shaped and sold around her. Zoe becomes a grounding
force, her tentative connection with Evan full of genuine unease.<\/p>\n
Will Forgrave, stepping into the role of Connor for this Birmingham opening night, gives a
performance that\u2019s both precise and affecting. Connor shifts between the real and the imagined \u2013 volatile teen and ghostly conscience \u2013 and Forgrave moves between tones with ease, offering
a charismatic, layered portrayal that elevates the show\u2019s most ethically charged moments.<\/p>\n
Tom Dickerson\u2019s Jared, who helps forge the emails, is all sardonic wit and guarded detachment \u2013 his one-liners landing with bite, even as they reveal something lonelier underneath. Vivian
Panka\u2019s Alana is restless and determined \u2013 desperate to matter, to be seen and willing to co-opt
tragedy to do it. Both characters capture the performance-driven sincerity of online life, where
every emotion can be monetised or manipulated.<\/p>\n
Morgan Large\u2019s set and video design (with Ravi Deepres) wraps the stage in flickering screens,
hashtags, YouTube clips and scrolling comment threads. The effect is immersive and often
chilling \u2013 especially in the social media montages, where the frenzy of digital attention becomes
a character in its own right. But not all the visuals land. In places, they slip into the aesthetic of
stock video filler \u2013 hollow flashes that feel more like placeholders than purposeful design.<\/p>\n
Photo: Supplied.<\/p>\n
Pasek and Paul\u2019s score remains a potent blend of vulnerability and urgency. Songs like \u2018Waving
Through a Window\u2019 and \u2018You Will Be Found\u2019 erupt from whispered insecurity into defiant
release, tracking Evan\u2019s inner panic with a precision few musicals attempt. When the show
leans too heavily on sentiment, it\u2019s the honesty in the performances that anchors it back.<\/p>\n
Not everything holds together. The production\u2019s unwavering commitment to its US setting
feels misplaced in a UK context. While most of the cast adopt American accents effectively,
several allow theirs to slip. These moments, though brief, break the illusion at key emotional
points \u2013 a small flaw, but one that pulls focus just when the show needs you most.<\/p>\n
The ending, too, stumbles. After unflinchingly exploring the consequences of lies, loneliness,
and digital mythology, the final scenes retreat into reassurance. There\u2019s talk of healing, growth,
and truth \u2013 but it lands too cleanly, leaving the messiness behind before it\u2019s been fully reckoned
with.<\/p>\n