Therapist Zero ****

Does therapy work?

Brian Leonard takes to the stage and opens up about his familial struggles. He and his wife have a daughter, Emily. She attends kindergarten (“reception” in the UK) and almost is immediately labelled as “acting up”. She probably preferred “precocious”.

They are referred to a mental health professional. His credentials appear to be impeccable: he is a New York Times best-selling author. Yet soon the parents become sceptical of his abilities. His narcissism reminds them of the protagonist in The Talented Mr Ripley. His ego is a barrier to meaningful, empathetic, help and they part ways.

This turns out to be the start of their frustrating and painful journey through the mental health system; hence “Ripley” being dubbed Therapist Zero.

The production takes us through some – but, crushingly for the family, far from all – of the therapists that they consult in their quest for help with Emily, whose meltdowns have become increasingly troubling as she grows older. By the end of Leonard’s account, we learn of the mostly feckless therapists (29 in all) that he optimistically continued to employ. But why the perseverance?

The answer lies partly in Leonard’s candid reflections on his own childhood. He recalls cigarettes, the sibling rivalry, the disappointments, moments of joy and one particularly devastating feeling of abandonment. This latter event, in the heart of his formative years, doubtless shaped his desire to be the best parent that he could be. This explains why, in blunt defiance of the oft-misattributed Einstein definition of madness, he relentlessly plugged away with new experts hoping for a different outcome.

Leonard is an accomplished storyteller with razor-sharp comic timing. He is composed, assured, articulate, and draws the audience into his narrative with charm and vulnerability. Ken Sonkin’s direction is deft and unobtrusive, giving him the space to hold court.

Brian Leonard tells us that therapy saved his life – and the suspicion is that there is a part of this story over which he has drawn a veil, especially when he temporarily leaves his family home. Perhaps the audience don’t need every detail; his honesty has been such that we can fill in some gaps ourselves. Sometimes not everything is perfect – like families and love.