Theatre review: The Unfriend

Former Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner Steven Moffat goes back to his sitcom roots for his playwrighting debut, and brings along some more TV connections - his regular collaborator Mark Gatiss directs black comedy The Unfriend, first seen in Chichester and now transferring to the Criterion. It mines familiar comic territory by throwing some truly objectionable people on stage together, and some of the characters aren't very nice either. Grumpily-married London couple Peter (Reece Shearsmith) and Debbie (Amanda Abbington) meet brash Denver widow Elsa (Frances Barber) on a cruise, and after a lot of emails invite her to stay for a few days. It's only on the day she arrives that they decide to do a quick Google search on her name, and discover she's suspected of being a serial poisoner who's killed at least six people - but had never left quite enough evidence behind for a case to stick.

They try to confront her with the fact that she left out a couple of fairly significant details about herself before they let her into their family, but British awkwardness coming up against American forthrightness leaves them feeling like they're being rude.

Besides, there seem to be upsides to having a serial killer in the house: Elsa quickly ingratiates herself with their surly teenage children Alex (Gabriel Howell) and Rosie (Maddie Holliday,) and they're soon leaving the house for exercise and even getting on with each other. Peter and Debbie's relationship also seems to improve, as do their relationships with their wider families. It soon becomes apparent that things will be significantly better for anyone who survives her week with them, and this "Murder Poppins" plot, like a more broadly comic Brimstone and Treacle, is the most fun element of Moffat's play.

I had reservations about seeing a show that prominently features people whose politics I find problematic to say the least, but the positive comparisons to Ayckbourn made me book to see this with a friend who loves Ayckbourn plays (who... then got ill so she didn't get to come anyway.) So it's hard to be entirely unbiased in a review - after all it did actively dampen my enjoyment of the show. But it's true Moffat's come up with a great premise and for the most part lived up to it with some great punchlines. I can see how people make the Ayckbourn link in the comedy of manners that hinges on people being so trapped by not wanting to appear rude that they don't know how to get rid of someone who might actively be trying to kill them.

The sitcom element is also apparent, very much embraced by Robert Jones' set (I liked how Andrzej Goulding's video was sneakily integrated into the suburban house) and by a couple of staple supporting characters, the neighbour (Michael Simkins) so dull nobody's been able to pay attention to him long enough to learn his name, and the cop (Marcus Onilude) who starts wandering around the house and everyone's too awkward to ask what he's doing there (although the running gag about his multiple first names is definitely something that must have sounded funny in Moffat's head and should have been cut in rehearsals.) Overall The Unfriend does well in its own right, but comes with outside baggage that will be harder for some to ignore than others, and for me proved an obstacle.

The Unfriend by Steven Moffat is booking until the 16th of April at the Criterion Theatre.

Running time: 2 hours including interval.

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan.