Lee Mack takes to the stage for a hilarious comedy about British suburbia
BRITS have a unique way of getting ourselves caught in uncomfortable situations because we’re too polite to say ‘no’.
That’s the central theme of writer Steven Moffat’s theatrical comedy, Unfriend, starring Lee Mack.
An average suburban family, plagued by a 'boring' neighbour ranting about boundary walls, recycling and car parking spaces, see their lives upended by the arrival of a visitor.
The audience was left in rapturous laughter by Mack, playing Dad Peter, and Sarah Alexander, as his wife Debbie.
The two bounce off each other with quick wit and charm as they battle to cope with their house guest, a bombacious American - Elsa Jean Krakowski, from Denver - played by the impeccable Frances Barber.
Cleverly contrasting classically American directness, with Brits' desperation to please, the family goes through a reckoning when it turns out their new visitor has a hidden dark past.
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Add to this a teenage son and daughter, who each bring their own dramas - the daughter's desperate need to be included in adult discussions (even sitting at the top of the stairs to listen in), and a son who won't leave his room - and you have a play that perfectly encapsulates modern family living.
Yet their visitor's arrival, which comes after Peter and Debbie fail to tell her she's no longer welcome when they discover her history through a Google search, bizarrely marks a remarkable improvement in the family's life.
By the end of the play the kids adore her, love their parents, and the four are finally able to spend time together in one room.
But Elsa's eventual departure comes with a shocking thud back to reality - as her dark past catches up with her.
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Unfriend's genius comes in its ability to convey the average British experience - with audience members gasping and chuckling as they recognised their own thoughts and feelings in each of the characters.
It deals in our obsession with tea and wine, sandwiches and neighbourhood rows.
And offers a comically dark insight into what can happen when we fail to stand our ground.
Unfriend
★★★★★
