The Stage

Absent Friends

Published Friday 10 February 2012 at 10:47 by Nicholas Hamilton

When it was first performed in 1974, Absent Friends marked an important shift in Alan Ayckbourn’s work. In the place of the manic action and big set pieces which had characterised his previous plays, Absent Friends takes the form of a group of friends conversing in a static domestic setting. The friends in question have reluctantly come together to support a bereaved friend. In the absence of an intricate or action-filled plot, the play relies on the observational skills of the writer, actors and director.

Ayckbourn brilliantly portrays the characters’ fear of talking about their emotions, with both hilarious and tragic results. Colin’s bereavement makes him a pariah. When he finally arrives, excuses are quickly made to avoid him. The subject of Colin’s loss is only finally braced as a result of a Freudian slip - when Marge’s instruction not to “drown” her tea in milk reveals that she has been thinking about the unfortunate manner in which Colin’s fiancee died. When Colin turns out not to be grieving in the manner expected, his friends’ awkwardness increases and soon turns to mild resentment.

Reece Shearsmith’s Colin is a nerdy, annoying know-it-all, who smacks his lips and adjusts his glasses in satisfaction at the brilliance of his own analysis of his friends’ relationships. His host Diana (Katherine Parkinson) is portrayed as the quintessential tragic housewife, who has just missed out on the opportunities of feminism. Elizabeth Berrington’s Marge is a sincere friend and enjoyable, goofy presence. However, she cannot bring herself to address Diana’s marital problems and instead decides to call the doctor.

As Diana’s husband Paul, Steffan Rhodri is the squash racket-wielding alpha male of the group. He is so embarrassed to be reminded that he once stole a serviette from his wife’s house when courting her, that he insists he now uses the memento to clean the car. As John, David Armand sublimates his aggression into spontaneous bursts of shadow boxing, while Kara Tointon channels her inner teenager in her role as John’s sullen wife.

These convincing performances are well supported by Tom Scutt’s aspirational, seventies interior and beautiful period costumes.

Absent Friends is an intelligent and enjoyable piece of work. However, despite the impressive contribution of all involved, it is hard to overlook the inherent flatness of the play. The characters, their quirks and their relationships are too quickly established. Within half an hour, it is quite clear who is sleeping with whom, how the friends feel about one another and how they have decided to deal with their situations. In the absence of a transformative narrative, the characters do little more than become entrenched in these positions.

It was a brave decision of Ayckbourn’s to write a play about ordinary people in a domestic setting in which no event of major significance takes place. However, this production suggests that on his first attempt at such a play, he did not overcome all of the associated challenges.

Search Amazon for Absent Friends items Search for tickets at Ticketmaster