The power of friendship, told with charm and authenticity
When they first meet, Harry mistakes Denise for a cleaner, a faux pas he later blames on her coat (“I’ve burned it in the garden”, she quips). What begins as two strangers in a rundown community centre, helping transition it from the local political committee Harry chairs to Denise’s Zumba class, quickly evolves into snatched moments between sessions, eating their sandwiches and catching up on each other’s weeks. Propelled by Jilly Bond and Timothy Harker’s charm and chemistry, Trestle is a highly watchable, warm and intimate bottling of just how powerful friendship can be.
Beyond this, there’s no overarching plot. The narrative is driven by Harry and Denise’s weekly catch-ups, and because the audience want to share in the couple’s jokes and camaraderie this is enough. Harry – the straight-man, a little bumbling, keeping busy since becoming a widow – and Denise – bubbly, occasionally crossing the line with her humour, also keeping busy – are an easy pair to root for. Their natural rapport makes for an engrossing story: Trestle is like sitting down in front of a good log fire – charmingly down-to-earth.
Even the best-laid fires crackle with energy every once in a while, and as the friends become more entwined in each other’s lives things become more complicated. Harry attends Denise’s Zumba class (“it took me until Saturday to get my walk back”) and a party she throws on the weekend, whilst Denise is riled when she attends the local political group Harry chairs. The audience hear of these developments second-hand, confined to the wonderful intimacy of their multi-purpose meeting room. In these moments, Trestle has something important to say about community, about grief and about love. Harry and Denise remain as charming and compelling as ever, and even while their interactions become tense their mutual care shines through.
Trestle is a revival of a show which – with the same director and cast – nominated for four OFFIE awards in 2021, and it’s easy to see why. Harry and Denise feel incredibly human, jumping off the stage with their authenticity and ordinariness – it’s easy to see your parents in their later-in-life friendship, or to hope you have similar experiences in the future.
An incongruous soundtrack – EDM tunes snatched from Denise’s Zumba classes – effectively draws the line between one scene and another, whilst an uncomplicated set anchors the action in time and place. A noticeboard is an explosion of hand-written adverts and NHS Blue warning posters, and dynamic use of plastic chairs and the eponymous table lends a momentum to each scene. Such a small, intimate production – an ordinary room, with ordinary people feeling ordinary emotions – is well-suited to the Jack Studio Theatre, which is itself situated in an annexe to a working pub. Trestle is warm and cosy, evoking a sense of community that feels increasingly rare, and never feels stuffy or dull.
This may be a regular story about regular people in a small town, but that doesn’t make it any less worth telling. Spending a couple of hours with Denise and Harry in their little room prompts reflections on grief, community, politics and the vitality of human connection. More importantly, the audience can bask in the genuine warmth of their friendship, warts and all. Superb acting, writing and direction make Trestle a real treat. Come along, take a seat, and watch a beaten-up table become the foundation of an unlikely friendship.
Trestle plays at the Jack Studio Theatre until 8th March. Tickets can be purchased here.