Review: SCENES FROM A FRIENDSHIP, Nottingham Playhouse

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Nottingham Playhouse’s latest world premiere from a local writer is Scenes From A Friendship. We get a glimpse into scenes from the lives of friends Jess and Billy – approximately one a year from the ages of 14 to mid-40s. This new play takes us on a rollercoaster of emotion. We’re laughing about the drama of secondary school plays before being moved by the struggles that people face through life, including coming out, parenting challenges and struggling to hold down a career.

Jane Upton’s writing is witty, fast-paced and natural. The two characters she has created are incredibly relatable – it’s easy to see some of yourself in at least one of them. Upton balances comedic moments and moving moments perfectly, although some of the musical theatre references in the early scenes could be a little cleverer.

Director Hannah Stone ensures the play keeps moving at the rapid pace in which Upton has written it, whilst giving moments to breathe that need it. Abby Clarke’s set design works very well – it is simple but Stone uses it incredibly effectively to depict a multitude of locations, enhanced by Alex Musgrave’s lighting design. Some more variations in Clarke’s costume designs could have helped to show the aging of the characters but the projections do just enough to show time passing. Ellie Isherwood’s sound design and composition is beautiful, although featuring a few more known songs would have helped ground the piece in its specific years and added another element of the fun to the show.

Katie Redford takes on the role of Jess, whilst Benedict Salter plays Billy. Both give outstanding powerhouse performances. They are instantly likeable and we long to see them both succeed in life. They do a good job at aging upwards bit by bit throughout the play – their teenagers aren’t necessarily entirely convincing, but we quickly buy into their performances. By not playing caricatures of teenagers, their performances are impactful from the off. As the play progresses, and adult life catches up with them, they give performances that are in equal measure heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Jane Upton has written a wonderfully relatable play, set in Nottingham but certainly relatable for all. It is incredibly refreshing to see a deep and believable platonic relationship with no hints of romance at all – you’re bound to leave the play encouraged to tell your friends how much you appreciate them and to make sure they know you’re there when they need you.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Jacob Bush

Scenes From a Friendship plays at Nottingham Playhouse until 12 June, with further info here.