Sharp, witty and quick – this play will keep you on your toes laughing full belly laughs as the British ludicrousness plays out on stage.
The Unfriend by Steven Moffat and directed by Mark Gatiss heralds the award winning team behind Sherlock return to the stage with this charming and hilarious play. Follow the antics of a British family as they struggle to disinvite a very dangerous visitor, The Unfriend is national comedy gold packed with slapstick, social disasters and a toxically polite couple who can’t bring themselves to cause a fuss.
With a strong cast made up of Reece Shearsmith (Peter), Amanda Abbington (Debbie), Frances Barber (Elsa), Michael Simkins (The Neighbour), Marcus Onilude (PC Junkin), Gabriel Howell (Alex) and Maddie Holliday (Rosie), the audience are in for a great time. Shearsmith and Abbington dominate the stage with quick quips back and forth and a chemistry that just feels so natural and reminiscent of a long married couple (whose affection for each other is real, but buried…deep down). Frances Barber as Elsa Jean Krakowski is a loud brash American woman who you simultaneously hate whilst loving. She brings order and respect to the house whilst also simultaneously a chaos that is completely uncontrollable. Howell and Holliday brought two petulant teenagers to life and I enjoyed seeing them settle into their roles on stage – Howell had the tricky role of being an extremely belligerent teenage boy at the start (very dislikeable) but his character transformation was expertly played.
The Criterion is the perfect venue for the London debut of this play – designer Robert Jones easily evokes the cruise ship with a small backdrop before opening up to reveal the ‘cosy’ suburban British home that the majority of the play takes place in. The living room forms the focal point for the action with small spin off stories in the anterooms keeping the audience engaged.
The comedy is a little simple at times – very traditional laughs are generated from the audience and I would imagine it wouldn’t land quite as smoothly with a non-British audience. However, the general plot and story is unique enough to keep my attention throughout and the comedy is fast paced and clever. I particularly enjoyed the shorter run time – at an 1hr 55 there’s no fat on this production, each line lands a laugh or pushes the plot along. In an age where the average audience member has a shorter attention span/is used to the quick delivery of TV shows this will keep the whole family engaged.