Review: Absent Friends - Sheringham Little Theatre

Review by Ray Tempesta

The final instalment of Sheringham Little Theatre's 2025 summer rep season saw Alan Ayckbourn's 70s comedy Absent Friends take centre stage, with the Theatre's talented company of six offering a perfectly pitched performance.

Such is the proliferation of Ayckbourn's work in theatres over the last six decades, there does exist a certain snobbery in some circles about his plays. It has little to do with the quality of the writing; ultimately, he wouldn't have been so successful if his plays weren't any good. To me, the problem is usually down to companies believing the material is good enough on its own, and that the selling power of the Ayckbourn name is enough to guarantee a successful production. Thankfully, there was no such complacency from Absent Friends Director Julia Roberts or her superb cast in what was a brilliant example of fast-paced and believable comedy.

The premise is that a group of friends decide to throw a tea party to console Colin, their estranged childhood pal, whose fiancée has recently died. There's already tension among the group prior to Colin's arrival, but when he turns up in much higher spirits than they anticipated, their fragile relationships start to come apart at the seams.

Leading the line was a vivacious Rachael Cummins as hostess Diana, the archetypal bustling housewife of many a 70s and 80s domestic comedy. Rather than being a one-dimensional character, Cummins' deft performance gave a layer of complexity to her character which enabled us to see the barely concealed pain which ultimately leads to her breakdown.

The same skill was true of Kate Cresswell as Marge. Despite the characters' initial outwardly chipper persona, Marge's absent and apparently ailing husband casts an increasingly disquieting shadow, and thanks to Cresswell's subtle portrayal of her descent, the show concludes in an unsettling fashion.

I appreciate this all sounds rather serious, but there was lots of comedy to be had, and none more so than from Joe Feeney as Colin. His spirited performance was a wonder to behold, as he set about inadvertently getting under the skin of friends old and new. While at first Feeney's portrayal seemed simply to be the knife to cut the tension, he then went and disarmed us all with an unexpectedly touching monologue about the effect of losing his partner.

All of the performances were eye-catching in one way or another, with Meg Arthurton's taciturn portrayal of the bored and frustrated Evelyn providing plenty of laughs whenever she spoke, and Kyle Fraser and Ryan Starling skilfully and hilariously depicting a strained relationship between men of differing social standing.

With humour and pathos in equal measure, and a cast on sparkling form, there is so much about this production to recommend. Absent Friends continues at Sheringham Little Theatre until 6th September.