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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Jessica Schneider as Debbie and Sandy Tudor The Unfriend The Nonentities The Rose Theatre, Kidderminster **** I’ve been looking forward to The Unfriend, by Steven Moffat, as it is a modern-day comedy fable that many of us can relate to; going somewhere and running into somebody annoying, who ingratiates themselves into your life, while you temporarily have nowhere to run to, or hide. It could be on an aeroplane, in a queue, in a supermarket. In the case of our main married characters Debbie and Peter, it happens to be on a luxury cruise, whilst they are attempting to read and relax and unwind away from the stresses of family life. Unfortunately for them, as they are sunning themselves in the deckchair area, they meet the extremely outgoing American widow Elsa, who hails from Denver, and does not . . . Stop . . . Talking. She appears enchanted with our protagonists, and they can’t seem to shake her off. Polite chit-chat and attempts to ignore Elsa soon turn into mild exasperation and them attempting frantically to escape. They are about to pack and leave the cruise anyway! Any attempts to leave her behind fail however, resulting in her taking their email, bombarding them with messages, before inviting herself to London to stay with them. Of course they don’t take her seriously. I mean, who does that in real life?
Jessica Schneider as Debbie and Martin Salter as Peter Once home, they google the widow to find she is highly suspected to be a serial killer. Arguments ensue, as to the reliability of ‘stuff you find on the internet.’ Disaster strikes as they realise she is due to fly from Denver the next day, and desperately find reasons to cancel Elsa's visit, without seeming 'impolite,' only to receive a Facebook video call from her. They very soon realise she is outside their front door, several days earlier than expected. Of course it would be RUDE to turn her away. And here is where this verbal comedy of manners really hits its stride. Sandy Tudor's Elsa is delightfully American, charming, persuasive, and seems to be able to always get her own way... We are also constantly left guessing, as nothing incriminating ever happens onstage…Miraculously, 'Murder Poppins' manages to improve the lives of everyone in that house, such to the chagrin of Debbie, who keeps trying to remind Peter that their house guest is very likely a serial killer! Everything seems to thrive under her watchful eye. Jessica Schneider (our personal favourite) is hilarious as the stressed mother and wife whose insanity levels are rapidly escalating due to the frustration of the situation. More and more alcohol is consumed nightly. There were many laugh-out-loud comedy moments that resulted in spontaneous rounds of applause from the audience.
Dan Taylor as a member of HM constabulary and Martin Salteras Peter It is a performance almost as iconic as her role as 'Rita' in Educating Rita. Most of her frustration comes from her family - irritatingly eager to please, placid husband Peter, played to middle-class perfection by Martin Salter. The use of language is played with fantastically here, using middle class politeness to the extreme, every metaphor twisting around itself in a bid to always be polite and never be, well - direct! The teenage son is tall, lazy and teenager-y, screaming for his mum from his unseen bedroom, and raising one hand in order to announce that he is about to break wind. He caused much laughter of recognition between my teenage daughter and myself. Played with monotone perfection by the young Matthew Wilson. We also have the dopey self-obsessed daughter, Rosie played by Evie Langford. The way she is constantly moping around in her pink dressing gown and fluffy slippers, questioning why nothing is ever about ‘her,’ added an extra layer of exasperation into this very believable family. Impressively Elsa's thick-skinned US character never loses her cool, unaffected by and simultaneously a part of the chaos all around her, remaining implacably 'herself' regardless of Debbie's ongoing accusations and hostility. After all, everybody else seems to love her!
Bob Graham as . . .er . . . as . . . er . . . he's the bloke who lives next door Comic relief is provided by Bob Graham as the Brummy next door neighbour, deemed so boring his character doesn't even have a name. After all, nobody can remember it! He turns up at the most inconvenient times, mithers and moans, badgers Peter about issues with the garden, and creates lots of laughs. After all, many of us know someone like that... Dan Taylor gives a good turn as the policeman who appears to also be getting wrapped around Elsa's little finger. The whole scene with the sandwich/toilet debacle is a memorable one, wonderfully disgusting and cringey in equal measures. We, as an audience, were very well entertained by the shenanigans on stage that never felt too unbelievable. This verbal and physical comedy farce was cleverly written and fun to watch unfold. Special mention needs to go to the set designers, Jen Eglinton and Jess Bishop. The kitchen/lounge set looked incredible, like a real house! We were really impressed with the quality of the show, the sound and the different lighting creating different times of day. The use of technology, sound and video were also impressive and added depth to the story.The Unfriend will be charming and persuading patrons until Saturday, 13-09-25. Karen Cave 08-09-25 |
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