Type – Comedy of manners
If you liked – Private Lives, Fawlty Towers
The Unfriend: a comedy of manners full of witty repartee and comical discomfort
Four years after its London debut, The Unfriend has its Australian premiere at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, directed by Simon Phillips for Sydney Theatre Company. The debut play of Scottish TV writer and producer Steven Moffatt (Dr Who and BBCs Sherlock) is an English comedy of manners with the knife-edge fear of death by poisoning. He takes the very English fear of social awkwardness to explore what happens when it collides, head-on, with brash American outspokenness.
Will the terribly polite English couple survive their American house guest? Do the English suddenly regret their special relationship with America?
Peter and his wife Debbie are on a cruise, lying on the sun deck and sipping cocktails. There’s this one passenger; a flamboyant American woman that seems to make friends with absolutely everybody she meets and somehow she convinces them to swap email addresses. They don’t think much of it until they receive an email from her saying she’s on her way to England and looking forward to staying with them soon! Panicked, they google her name only to discover she’s a serial killer released from jail on a technicality. They do manage to talk her out of visiting them but not without telling their friends Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue.
As writers do, Moffat thought ‘what if?’ What if they didn’t stop the American woman from turning up and an English couple had to navigate the social minefield of having a suspected serial poisoner come to stay? Peter agreed that Moffat could write their experience into a play on two conditions: Moffat kept Peter’s name for his character and gave him two tickets for the opening night and so became his first stage play, The Unfriend.
Comedy queen Helen Thomson (Colin from Accounts, The Importance of Being Earnest) is diabolical as the murderous Elsa. Dripping in jewellery her wardrobe brings Ab Fab‘s Patsy Stone crossed with The Nanny‘s Fran; sporting fur coats, crushed velvet tracksuits and ridiculously high wedge heels. The costumes further contrast the English and Americanisms, with Thomson, at times, giving shades of another prominent strawberry-blonde psychopathic American in physicality and bluster. Alex Lee (The Fall Guy, Single Asian Female) and Tim Walter (Perplex, Uncle Vanya) portray the British travellers, and bring sitcom-comedy to their polite but panicked characters.
As the Lindel’s teenage children, Ty Arnott brings hilariously petulant physicality as Alex Lindel, and Brooklyn Davies, as his sister Rosie Lindel, is suitably indignant and outraged, both great fun to watch supported by Huw Higginson as The Neighbour and Ben Wood as PC Junkin.
Isabel Hudson‘s set design is a highlight, transporting us from cruise ship to family home. The house interior drew gasps on opening night from the highly detailed, mid-century London living room. Forest green wallpaper surrounds the stained glass windows, with timber laminate dining table and vinyl padded dining set chairs. Set in current day with elements from the last 30+ years, the main set deliberately plays on the British sitcom, complete with projected opening credits while Morgan Moroney’s multimedia set effectively integrates the technology in the world of the play in a readable way.
Simon Phillips‘ direction keeps the work moving with lively pacing, with easy to follow transitions. The dynamic and differences between British and American culture is a main point of comedy, with subtle nods to the currently strained relationship between countries.
Is THE UNFRIEND worth Seeing in SYDNEY?
It’s tempting to say: kill for a ticket. But murder is wrong. Don’t forget this. Get yourself a ticket (by purchasing it like a law-abiding citizen) for a night of comedic social awkwardness with cracking performances.
Will the terribly polite English couple survive their American house guest?
Do the English suddenly regret their special relationship with America?
Tickets and Practical Info for THE UNFRIEND in SYDNEY 🎟️
Playing at Roslyn Packer Theatre until Oct 31, 2026
Director Simon Phillips
Designer Isabel Hudson
Lighting Designer Nick Schlieper
Composer & Sound Designer Sam Cheng
Video Designer Morgan Moroney
Associate Director Kenneth Moraleda
Cast: Ty Arnott, Brooklyn Davies, Huw Higginson, Alex Lee, Helen Thomson, Tim Walter, and Ben Wood.Add info here
