The Unfriend
- Review Date: 6 March 2024
- Venue: Wyndhams Theatre, London WC2
- Star Rating: *****
- Starring: Frances Barber, Lee Mack and Sarah Alexander
- Writer: Steven Moffat
- Director: Mark Gatiss
- Production: Chichester Festival Theatre and Playful Productions
The Unfriend is about a couple on holiday – Peter (Lee Mack) and Debbie (Sarah Alexander) who befriend solo traveller and widower Elsa (Frances Barber), a lusty, Trump loving widow from Denver, USA. She’s something of a chatterbox, with a 1,001 stories to tell. On their final day of their cruise they agree to keep in touch. Perfectly normal thing to do. No one usually keeps in touch. What could possibly go wrong?
Peter (Lee Mack)
Well plenty in fact and that is the set up for this brilliant, funny, British, middle class farce. It’s been around for a few years, but only with Lee Mack since it returned to the West End at Wyndham’s Theatre on 16 December 2023. It’s tailor made for Lee Mack as the story is very much like an extended ‘Not Going Out’ episode so if you love that smash hit sit-com you’ll love this play.
There’s joke galore, a great story, tension and suspense constantly building as lie upon lie creates a nightmare for Peter, Debbie and family. Lee, Sarah and the two teenage children – Rosie (Maddie Holliday) and Alex (Jem Matthews) put in great performances – you really get the sense of panic and fear in the parents; and the typical teenager behaviour/fractious relationship between Rosie and Alex – albeit it hyper exaggerated with Alex’s anti-social, reclusive, loudness.
Frances Barber is fantastic – at turns mumsy and murderous sounding; such a commanding, dominating presence throughout. She gives the couple a few way outs along the way too to avoid all the drama that ensued. She’s actually from my home city of Wolverhampton but I can confirm she doesn’t sound like any women I know from that part of the ‘Black Country’! She affected such a convincing sounding American accent during the near 2 hour play that if you didn’t know she was a Wulfrunian Englishwoman you’d have genuinely thought she was American.
Rosie (Maddie Holliday) and Alex (Jem Matthews)
The neighbour (Nick Sampson) played his role perfectly and whenever he appeared there it, for him, unexpectedly ratcheted up the jokes level with him being the butt of many of the comments – both when he’s there and when he leaves the stage!
It is as much a story of British manners as anything else as the desire to do the right and obvious thing to stop Elsa in her tracks was trumped by the typical, politeness of the British of not wanting to offend, even if the invited guest they wish to immediately disinvite appears to be a murderer! There may be a moral in the tale here but that would be telling. The show has ended now but I wouldn’t be surprised if it returns again. My advise if it does return. Befriend someone and go along to see this hilarious drama.
© Tiemo Talk of The Town
Links:
- Keep CAMHS and Carry On as This Might not be It – Tiemo Review – 04/03/2024
- What is the Midlands Black Country and How Did it Get Its Name? – Richard Franks 09/10/2009
- Dear England: From Also Rans to World Beaters (Nearly) – Tiemo review – 19/01/2024
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tiemotalkofthetown 
I saw this on the first night and found it extremely boring. I did not laugh not once. Where was the comedy? And yes, I do have a sense of humour!!! It was so predictable and obvious where the play was going all the way through. I would not recommend this play at all. Lee Mack is OK in small doses on TV but a whole play is too much and his acting leaves a lot to be desired (in fact all of their acting does!).
Hello Avril – Thanks for commenting. It’s a pity you didn’t enjoy the play. It may be that as you saw it on first night, it required further time to improve and has done so since. I enjoyed it and got the sense the audience did when I saw it judging by the laughter. Ironically I saw it 3 days before it’s run ended. Just as well not everyone saw it the same way you did as I doubt it would have lasted to March before being pulled.