The Unfriend

This is a relatively new play which had its first performance in 2022 at Chichester and then went onto the West End in January 2023. It has only been made available for amateur performances for a short space of time and Thurrock Courts Players are amongst the first dozen amateur companies to perform the play since it was released in the middle of 2025.   Written by award winning writer Steven Moffat, it is a brilliantly written script filled with comedic opportunities but telling a dark story.

This production was filled with witty and funny one liners that had the audience laughing almost constantly but it also had a message which was delivered, by Director Victoria Grayling and the very talented cast, beautifully.  They took advantage of every comedic line in the script but still maintained the serious mystery of the plot.

I do not usually write a synopsis of the plot in a show report but in this case, this needs to have a limited synopsis, to understand the comments and reactions of Peter, Debbie and this family.

It started with a conversation, on the deck of a cruise ship, between Elsa, an American, and English couple Peter and Debbie.  Jill Snelling played Elsa with great style and excellent characterisation.  She was just the sort of cruise passenger you might go out of your way to avoid.  The conversation ended with her persistent invitation to Peter and Debbie to visit her if they were ever in her part of the USA.

In the next scene we learn that Elsa has invited herself to stay with Peter and Debbie in England.  Peter, played by Ian Benson, was perfect as the slightly harassed husband who would prefer to ‘let things slide’ than do something active about them.  Ian’s performance was a perfect observation of this typical attitude of a man of this type.  Lauren Jones, playing Debbie, on the other hand was excellent as the more doubting, less accepting, one in the family.

We learn that Debbie’s internet research has shown that Elsa is suspected of murdering numerous members of her family back in the States.  Which is, of course, a great concern for her and one that she wants Peter to deal with, which of course he avoids.   Debbie’s ‘breakdown’ later in the play was perfectly performed, by Lauren.

As the play progressed, we saw their two children Alex, played by Lily Edmeades, and Rosie played by Sophie Nash.  Both actresses produced excellent portrayals of two different teenagers, with plenty of attitude and lots of foot stamping and tantrums.  We also met the annoying neighbour, played by David Carey with some excellent facial expressions which had the audience laughing in appreciation.  And, randomly, a Police Officer (Trevor Povey) who seemed to be investigating Elsa for the aforementioned murders.  As the plot thickened the change in attitudes of the cast were very well displayed and the denouement was perfectly handled.

Every member of the cast was excellent in their characterisations and the play moved swiftly along with a couple of blackouts to accentuate the drama.

The scenery was simple but very effective and the props were totally appropriate; I especially appreciated the toilet cleaner brush action!   Costumes, sound and lighting were all well planned and executed, with some very good and well-timed sound effects.

I thought this was an excellent production and the audience all agreed, judging by their comments as they left the auditorium.

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