Holiday friendships usually don’t last beyond the sun and sangria, save for an annual Christmas card or occasional email, but Steven Moffat’s comedy of manners, The Unfriend, explores what happens when things go a step further and that person you never expected to see again invites themselves to be a houseguest.
The production, beautifully directed by Mark Gatiss originally ran at Chichester Festival Theatre before transferring the following year to London’s Criterion Theatre, now it returns to the West End for a new run at the Wyndham’s Theatre.
Unlike the Facebook feature rom which the play takes its title, Peter and Debbie seem unable to find the gumption required to ‘stop’ being friends with the brash American named Elsa whom they met on a recent month-long cruise.
Elsa has turned up on their doorstep, ready to move in for an unspecified time. Being typically British Peter and Debbie don’t wish to mention that they don’t agree with Elsa’s political leanings, in avoiding confrontation the couple and their children dance around the less appealing aspects of Elsa’s character, including the fact that Google seems to suggest she might be a serial killer.
But Elsa’s arrival doesn’t seem to be all bad, Peter’s more relaxed nature and the calming of hostilities between the two teenage children lead Debbie to declare “she’s murder Poppins!”. This is well-written comedy where the laughs appear naturally out of the developing story, and the robust pacing keeps everything ticking over nicely, especially in the second act here everything becomes slightly more frantic.
Lee Mack as Peter has all the best lines and effervescently plays the lily-livered patriarch. Debbie is a less well-developed character, so the audience find themselves wishing for more of an opportunity to see Sarah Alexander shine.
Jem Matthews as Alex, and Maddie Holliday as Rosie, those warring teenagers, bring something wonderful to The Unfriend, these characters are probably the best developed and you can see the pair enjoying bouncing off each other while maintaining the high-octane energy. It’s difficult not to find Frances Barber funny as Elsa, delivering each line with an innocence that’s brimming with malice.
The cast is completed by Muzz Khan’s delightfully dim-witted PC Junkin and Nick Sampson, wonderfully hilarious as the boring but persistent neighbour.
Razor sharp direction from Mark Gatiss keeps this gentle comedy feeling exciting, while Robert Jones’ forced perspective set draws the eye to where all the action is happening. The Unfriend is a far-fetched comedy farce that is, on the whole, very funny. It’s an easy-going delight that is effortlessly entertaining and showcases some incredible talent, on stage and off.
