Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have talked recently of putting their TV series Inside No 9 onstage. And in a way they've done it here, if they decided to do their own take on the classic suburban sitcom crossed with stage farce. Except that it is written by Dr Who/Sherlock writer Steven Moffat. And Steve Pemberton is not involved. But The Unfriend does star Reece Shearsmith and his League of Gentlemen colleague Mark Gatiss directs. Heck, the house where the action is set even has a shiny Number 9 on the door.
Shearsmith and Amanda Abbington play Peter and Debbie, who meet brassy, brash, over-friendly Elsa (Frances Barber) on a cruise. Email addresses are exchanged, invites to visit are mentioned but Peter and Debbie assume they will never be taken up. The next thing they know Elsa is on their doorstep. And a quick bit of googling on their part suggests that Elsa isn't just a pain, she might be a murderer...
So the scene is set of a classic comedy of manners, mixing the dark comedic streak of Inside... with the fast-paced stage antics and miscommunications of Alan Ayckbourn. Debbie and Peter are far too polite to send Elsa packing, even though they think she might have it in for their two children. Are their good manners going to be the death of them?
Everything runs at a cracking pace with nice lines and some decent physical comedy, most notably when Shearsmith indulges in some business with a loo brush. Michael Simkins plays a neighbour straight out of TV sitcomland who is so dull Peter can barely recall his name. It's not particularly convincing but if you can embrace this world where everybody is too polite to say what they are thinking it is great fun.
And, of course, as with Inside.. there has to be a few red herrings and twists as well as some laugh out loud moments. The Unfriend does feel a bit creaky at times - the teenagers, played by Gabriel Howell and Maddie Holliday, could not be more cliched, which is the fault of the writing, not the actors. If there weren't mobile phones and laptops involved this could be set in the 1960s.
Shearsmith and Abbington are believable as a couple. She's laid back, he's constantly on edge, with an echo of Ronnie Corbett thrown in for good measure. Frances Barber slightly channels Jennifer Coolidge from The White Lotus.
The Unfriend feels like traditional West End fare. Whereas Inside No 9 pushes boundaries, this reinforces them. But if you want an episode that definitely won't give you nightmares this does hit the spot.
The Unfriend is at the Criterion Theatre until 16 April 2023. Tickets are available from https://theunfriend.com.
Picture: Manuel Harlan
