Pen Pals

Daryl Roth Theatre
25 September 2025

This show was so simple, so elegant, and so moving. And it is told entirely through letters.

The stage is essentially split into two halves. On one side we have Bernie (played by Paige Davis), she lives in New Jersey and at the start of the play is 14 years old. And on the other side, we have Mags (played by Sharna Burgess). She recently moved from London to Chesterfield, England and she’s not particularly happy about that. She is also 14. Bernie and Mags are both taking part in a pen pals program in their schools.

Each character has a desk and a book full of their letters to each other. And we watch as within minutes of entering the stage, these two adult women transfer into young teenage girls excitedly writing to each other about everything — boys, other girls they don’t like, their favourite school subjects, etc. But, as the show progresses, time passes, and the characters age.

However, as the characters get older and the friendship deepens, and the subjects they write about become more and more serious — neither Davis nor Burgess missed a beat. The characters getting older felt natural. The way the two actors expressed themselves through their demeanour and attitude changed as the characters they played matured. And it felt flawless. It felt natural.

The staging was simple as well. Each character reading the letters they had received from the other. As one character “wrote” their letter (instead of showing the audience the character physically writing — the character just stated out loud, typically while facing the audience the contents of each letter) as the other character would be reading and reacting to it. Most of the time reaction would be something small like laughter, but once in a while, a character would react so strongly that they exited the stage. It was such a simple thing to do — just get up and walk off stage. But it was so impactful to have just one of the actors there.

This show progresses quickly, and I think that’s a good thing. Life can be a rollercoaster of good times and bad, and often those good and bad times happen suddenly and without warning. And that happens in this play.

The play hits on a lot of difficult subject matters. Some of which include: the sudden loss of a loved one, abuse, questioning your own happiness, grief, and so much more. And it has some less serious subject matter — the idea that something you are fundamentally against can be the correct thing for someone else, forgiveness, not realising what you have until it’s gone, and most importantly friendship and the need to have someone that you can be completely open with. Even if that person gets angry at the choices you make; everybody needs a friend that they can be completely open and honest with. And sometimes, I think, that can be easier with a pen pal than someone that we see face to face.

There was a lot of attention to detail in this entire production. Some of my absolute favourites included the music before the show which included “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen and “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick. And, perhaps most notably was the option to be paired with a pen pal (email or regular mail), which was a wonderful touch.

The cast of this show rotates, but it is one I would definitely recommend seeing. Bring your tissues, though. Some of the plot advances are ones that the audience would likely expect, but some of them definitely blindside you. Just like life does.

However, I have to go plan a trip to meet my own long distance pen pal that I have been exchanging messages with for at least two decades. I think it may finally be time to meet up before life gets too in the way.

Pen Pals was an absolutely beautiful show.