Review: Absent Friends at The Harold Pinter Theatre

Absent Friends
The Harold Pinter Theatre
Performance: 14th April 2012

On Saturday 14th April 2012 I went to see the final performance of Alan Ayckbourn's hilarious play, Absent Friends. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, all I knew is that I wanted a good laugh... and boy did I get one! After using that incredibly American phrase I am going to say how I thought this play demonstrated British humour at it's best - British people laugh at the problems of other British people. 

I loved the way with this play all the comedy was in the script, and the delivery of the lines instead of the physicality of the actors. In fact the only physical comedy was when Diana (Katherine Parkinson - Sherlock, IT Crowd, Doc Martin)  poured cream over her husband Paul (Steffan Rhodri - Gavin & Stacey) at the climax of an argument.

Here is a video interview of the cast, producer and writer which will tell you more about the play.

I have to say I LOVED Kara Tointon's (Pygmalion, Strictly, Eastenders) portrayal of young Evelyn. She kept it so simple and succeeded in being incredibly funny. Normally is is the actors that go over the top which are funniest however by keeping everything to a minimal, even head movement she had me in fits of laughter!!

Kara Tointon as Evelyn

I wasn't majorly keen on David Armand's (The Secret Policeman's Ball, My Family) John. I felt like there was so much more he could have done with the character.

Elizabeth Berrington who played Marge really stole the show for me. She is a comedy genius! The faces she fulls are soooooo soooo soooooo funny! The show is about a tea party where nobody wants to mention Colin's fiance who drowned who none of them had met. Just after he arrived Diana was making tea and Elizabeth Berrington says 'don't drown it. It was simply comedy genius - the script was just so funny and Elizabeth Berrington's facial expression when she realised what she had just said was amazing. I really would love to see her in other roles as I really think she is so talented. 

Katherine Parkinson was also outstanding as Diana. It must have been very draining for her though as her character goes through such a journey and ends up having this massive meltdown. I loved her monologue at the begging though where she is trying to find out if Tointon's character is having an affair with her husband. She did did it in a way which meant at first the audience were not quite sure that is what she was getting at however over time the audience finally realizes. It was a very clever monologue.

Steffan Rhodri was also great at portraying the stereotypical annoying, miserable husband Paul. The only thing I can fault him on is his accent. It slipped a few times and my friend who I watched it with thought maybe he was going a bit Australian (she hasn't seen Gavin & Stacey). He was good at getting the character across to the audience as straight away I didn't really like him (which means he did it well)

Finally Reece Shearsmith was perfect for Collin. He played the part outstandingly and was so funny. I loved how at ease and comfortable he came across. He had great comic timing and he thought about his every single move which makes the character that bit more believable.

This was a great play and if ever you get the chance to see it... I would jump at it! Unfortunately it has now finished it's run at the Harold Pinter however I am sure it will pop up again. It has also introduced me to Alan Ayckbourn's work. He is a very clever writer and I would like to see how Absent Friends compares to his other work. I loved how at the end of the show the cast didn't realize there were people trying to give them flowers to mark the last night. They seemed like they had got close during the run and had great chemistry. 

Perfect actors, perfect writing, perfect play.