The Unfriend: Director’s Q&A with Fiona Rogers

Steven Moffat is one of the great names in British contemporary writing, famous for his work on the BBC’s Doctor Who and Sherlock, among other things. So when you see his name as the playwright for Wokingham Theatre’s Christmas show, you know it’s going to be good. We sat down with ‘The Unfriend’ Director Fiona Rogers to hear how rehearsals have been going, once they’ve managed to stop laughing… 

First things first, without giving too much of the plot away, what is The Unfriend about?

In essence, the play is described as a comedy of manners. It explores British politeness and the extremes that we go to in order to remain polite at all times. No matter how incongruous or challenging a situation may be, we still stick to our stiff upper lip politeness. And that’s what this play is all about.

While this isn’t your typical story for a Christmas play (not being set at Christmas for one thing!) there are definitely some recognisable festive tropes in the story. Tell us more about that.

Well this play will certainly give you unhelpful hints with how to deal with visitors, which is particularly the case at Christmas when we have lots of friends and family visiting! This play would be a lesson in how not to handle them. But also, really great British comedy is part of the Christmas traditions, snuggling down on the sofa after a day of frivolities, to enjoy some situational comedy, just like this.

What did you think of The Unfriend  when you first read the script?

I adored it. It’s a good sign when you turn the first page and you start giggling to yourself out loud, with nobody around to hear you. Each page you turn just brings more and more giggles. The writing is sublime. It harks back to the classic era of brilliant British writing – your Ayckbourns, your Victoria Woods etc – where the writing creates these set pieces that always land with a joke that just hits the funny bone.

What makes it so funny?

The farcical nature of it, it’s like a situational comedy. The impossible situations that our characters find themselves in, which get more and more ridiculous. Also I think it’s funny because of its relevance; everyone can relate to having to be gracious and polite to people, when you really don’t want to be. There’s certainly elements of behaviours from our characters that as the audience watching you think,  I’d love to be able to get away with that! 

You’ve got two senior members of the Youth Theatre among your cast, what has that been like to have them involved?

Yes, Annabel and Jack are both from the Youth Theatre. They’re absolutely fantastic and so full of energy. Plus they’re so experienced! They’ve gained really good stage confidence and experience from being with the youth theatre, that they’re really strong members of the cast. And they were on top of their lines from the beginning! They’ve just been a joy to work with.

It’s absolutely invaluable to Wokingham Theatre to have a youth theatre here, because they are the future of WT. So it’s important we nurture their talent and interest in the arts, as many of them may come back to WT after going off to further education, and go on to take on bigger roles in the theatre or join our crew, and even help shape our direction on the Board. So it’s so important we nurture that relationship. 

Tell us about rehearsals, what have they been like?

Challenging, but only because we can’t stop giggling! It’s sometimes impossible to get the lines out, because we’re all laughing so much. But I’ve got an amazing, absolutely fantastic cast. It’s wonderful to be able to work with actors who just get it straight away, that you can give a direction or explain what you’d like – sometimes not all that articulately in that moment – but they just get it.

I think it’s a fine art with comedy, finding the balance between getting the authenticity of the characters and showing the ridiculousness, without overplaying it. 

What is your favourite moment in the creative process?

I enjoy the blocking. I like seeking and drawing out those funny moments, I like to use slapstick. It’s when the actors attempt the direction you give them, and it lands perfectly. I love that part of the process. 

I’ve had such a fantastic team on this production, the dynamics and the fun we’ve had together. As always, it’s just a huge thank you to the crew as well, I think everyone has really enjoyed the ride on this one.

What can audiences expect from the production?

Hopefully a lot of laughs! But also I hope that they see the cleverness of the writing, where we’ve tried to pull the comedy off the page. I think they’re going to relate to the characters in some way, and just enjoy the pace and farcical nature, hopefully viewing it as a great British comedy. It’s rapturous, riotous good fun, delivered with high energy by a fantastic cast and crew., 

FInally, if you describe production in three words, what would it be?

Uproariously funny and clever