The Unfriend

The Unfriend is Steven Moffat’s first ever stage play first performed in 2022 and has only recently been released for amateur.

It was very clear Keith Swainston the director had thought about many different aspects of the play, from the use of technology, accents and the build-up of frustration and anger in all the characters.  Very effective directing, and I like the nod to Mary Poppins!

The married couple in the play were played by Gareth Martin (Peter) and Natalie Gordon (Debbie).  Both were outstanding, this is a very wordy play, and they were incredible and their timing was great.  The build-up of frustration in Peter was portrayed by Gareth well, it felt like a song starting slow until he finally erupted, very well done.  Natalie gave Debbie a composure when trying to find a solution to the Elsa problem as well as showing her anxiety as well.

Alison Hancock played Elsa.  Wow what an accent! Not only American but regional it was faultless and brilliant! Alison portrayed Elsa with warmth but also, she had that sinister edge Elsa needed, is she really murderer, who knows?

Sammy Jolly and Evie O’Connell played the children Alex and Rosie.  Both were magnificent.  It helped that the writing was so good, but their portrayal reminded me of my children it was like holding up a mirror.  I think every parent could relate.

Tom O’Connell played The Neighbour.  The portrayal of The Neighbour reminded me of Basil Fawlty, with the pent-up frustration, because of this I was interested in this character, this is opposite to the description given throughout the play as being boring.  This takes nothing away from Tom’s performance.

The set was stunning, the house looks great and used the stage in such a good way, with the stairs giving the height and depth to the house.  The TV screen was used so effectively showing the phone conversations and showing newspaper articles.  The only thing with the stairs is it did create a blind spot, especially when Rosie was listening to conversation.  After speaking with Keith, I understand why the compromise had to be made.  Speaking of lights, I thought they were great.  The only thing was when the scene Gareth and Natalie spoke to Elsa in the dream scene, at first, I just thought the scene was at night rather than a dream scene, I am not sure the lights gave the desired atmosphere.

This was a well written play performed and directed thoughtfully and cleverly.  Thank you to Eliott for his hospitality.

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