The Unfriend

Steven Moffat is an accomplished writer since 1989 with 11 TV series and one film credit to his name. I must admit that I have seen none of them but in view of the brilliant writing of this, his first play, I am tempted to check catch-up TV to see some of these series. The Unfriend premiered locally in 2022 after being delayed because of Covid. Director, Sarah Papouis, was quick to spot that this could be an excellent choice for Southwick Players - and so it was.

It required first-rate acting skills for all the seven characters involved in this murder, maybe? and comedic play. Laughs were abundant throughout the whole piece. Peter and Debbie (Mark Best and Caroline Marchant) were the couple who had the thought to say to a stranger, “We must keep in touch.” The stranger, Elsa (Claire Carpenter) took them at their word and turns up at their house just moments after the couple see a documentary that accuses her of being the cause of several people’s death. British manners and politeness stopped them from turning her away immediately and so a few days of awkwardness ensued as Elsa bonds with the two children, Rosie and Alex (Abbey Colyer and Nick Mann). The entire dialogue from all the aforementioned characters was clear, audible and given the correct emphasis and feeling as they built the storyline. They interacted extremely well and naturally with one another. Claire Carpenter’s American accent remained consistent from beginning to end. The Neighbour - a rather irritating one - was played by H Reeves, a Southwick regular. This part of the rather annoying and forthright speaking person was expertly enacted. The seventh and final person, although not appearing until act 2, but nevertheless adding much more humour to the evolving situation was P.C. Junkin (Ryan Etherington). Again, well cast for his dour and down-to-earth nature. The ending of the play was extremely clever, leaving me with the question - was Elsa a murderer or not?

The Unfriend included three new cast members and two returning actors to add to the company’s membership and I think the future looks bright for them all and the local theatre goers.

One part of the evening was a monologue at the beginning of Act two by Debbie - this was sheer brilliance. I have great admiration for any actor who can learn such a large amount of script and deliver it with such confidence and ability.      

The set, which I have seen before but this time painted in bright, cheerful colours was a masterpiece - two main entrances, winding stairs and a further door to a toilet and a space above the window where we were able to see the texts and computer output.  The technical crew were precisely on cue with all the mobile phone sound effects and the lighting was simple and effective.

Another plus for the evening was the programme. This was black print on white paper in average size font. I could read every word without even searching for my reading glasses. It was a well designed and informative brochure containing all that appertains to the show.

Congratulations to the whole team at Southwick for a splendid evening.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.