Scenes From a Friendship at Nottingham Playhouse Review
Photo: Pamela Raith
Written by James for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own
Currently playing in the intimate Neville Studio above the Nottingham Playhouse, ‘Scenes from a Friendship’ by Jane Upton is an emotive, nostalgic play which presents an absolute masterclass in how to successfully present a two-hander. The title is incredibly apt as the play unfolds in a series of vignettes charting the highs and lows of friendship between Jess (Katie Redford) and Billy (Benedict Salter) from the age of 12, in Long Eaton, 1987, when they are planning to perform a play for Jess’ parents.
Not only is the play incredibly well written, the chemistry between the two actors was both compelling and believable. The staging was also incredibly inventive and beautiful, making use of a simple white minimalist backdrop which consisted of polaroid print outs detailing the friendship between Jess and Billy. The director (Hannah Stone) really paid attention to detail in terms of period and the nostalgic element of the late 90s into the noughties which lent the piece verisimilitude; from Jess’ Dad breathing down the landline, the iconic Nokia ringtone as time progressed, references to chart music, Jess’ part-time job in Woolworths, teen magazines and the pair sharing a bag of skips outside. These small but significant details really anchored the play temporally.
From their initial staging of a living room play Jess and Billy share the aspiration of making it in the world of acting. Fast forward to their teenage years and Billy has landed the main role in the school production whilst Jess plays something like street performer number 3 which is perhaps an early moment of foreshadowing how their paths are going to diverge. A year later the pair are rehearsing for their respective roles of Romeo and Juliet with the appropriate angst and disdain over a stage kiss when Billy reveals to Jess that he thinks he might be gay. This added a great deal of depth to the story (handled with aplomb) by Benedict Salter, especially in a subsequent scene where he is beaten up in the street for being gay.
As well as homophobic bullying, the play also interrogates the theme of social class. Whilst at a rehearsal Billy (who lives on a council estate with a single mother) meets a boy called Oliver who invites him to rehearse for their theatre group in Nottingham. Billy gets incredibly nervous about the differences between him and Oliver, the fact he lives in a big house and his laissez-faire parents allow him to drink wine. Ultimately the two end of sharing a night, with Billy going home in Oliver’s t shirt, “Ralph Lauren,” he exclaims, before worrying that Oliver might see him as a charity case. Jess urges Billy to call Oliver and arrange a follow up, during this heated exchange on the landline it’s revealed that Oliver has a boyfriend and just wants to be friends with Billy. Billy then laments that nobody loves him and it is revealed that his mother has not been especially supportive of him.
Ultimately, the play progresses into Billy and Jess’ adulthood where their friendship does become strained, with Billy leaving for drama school and a new life in London whilst Jess studies for a Literature degree and ends up remaining in Long Eaton, working for the council. Billy becomes rather obnoxious, mixing in celebrity circles as an agent with Jess felt rather excluded from his new life. Jess eventually auditions for a local play with Billy looking down on her decision, the tense and terse and challenging moments of a friendship are really interrogated here. Eventually, a difficult experience in childhood for Jess and Billy’s own experiences, with adopting a child adding further drama and tension towards the end of the play, with the pair eventually reconciling and reliving the importance of nostalgia and friendship.
The production was incredibly moving and cathartic, punctuated with lots of laughter from the audience as well as an abundance of tears. A vital and energising play.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
