Absent Friends (Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham)

The biggest clue to Alan Ayckbourn's Absent Friends is the title. There may be a six-strong cast on the stage, but the various stories being played out are as much driven by characters who are not present as those that are. Rather like Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot or Kevin Elyot's My Night with Reg, the characters we do see are directly influenced in either their attitude or life choices by those we don't - a frighteningly accurate reflection of real life. We may not realise or admit it, but we're all influenced by our experiences with people who may no longer be in our lives, whether we like it or not.

Absent Friends is reminiscent of Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party, but actually predates that more famous production by three years. It concerns a gathering of old friends several months after the tragic death of Colin's fiancée, Carol. The setting is a middle class living room in 1974, complete with brick fireplace, poufs and sunburst wall clock. The dimensions of the set are meant to reflect a realistic front room to encourage the awkwardness and tensions that develop in the play, and the careful placing and spacing of the barely adequate seating arrangements cleverly contributes to this conceit. There are six characters and seven places to sit, but not all of these seats are comfortable or appropriate, so it's interesting to watch the movement around the set throughout the play.

The first Act is largely taken up with establishing hosts Diana and Paul (the former a rather more willing host than the latter), as well as friends John and Marge, and John's partner Evelyn. Each character is very well drawn and interpreted by a well-rehearsed cast. I wouldn't say the characters are archetypes, but they are very representative of certain types of people - the stay-at-home mum beginning to feel underappreciated and unloved (Diana); the bold, brash businessman with more thought for his own success than his family (Paul); the struggling hanger-on with more ambition than talent (John); the reluctant new mum with a stand-offish manner (Evelyn); and the talkative friend who listens but rarely hears (Marge).

There are some beautiful performances. John Dorney is fidgety John, a man who cannot stay still for more than a few seconds, and this nervous energy is carried through Dorney's performance almost entirely for the full 90 minutes. He must be exhausted by the end of the performance, although his restlessness does calm down a little toward the end (purposefully or not). Either way, Dorney makes John the very definition of awkward.

John Dorney (John) and
Kevin Drury (Paul)

There's a wonderful turn as Marge from Susie Emmett, who seems to be channelling Catherine Tate's Essex girl character in her comic mannerisms and speech patterns. Her introduction to the play is hilarious - all the business with the shoes and paper towel holder - but again, as with Dorney, there is a noticeable softening of the character in the second half, principally because Marge isn't as well written for as she is in the first half, but also because by the end of the play these characters are far more contemplative than when they started out. Marge is such an amusing central character that her more muted condition by the end feels at odds with the way we've been introduced to her.

Lisa Burrows gives a beautifully nuanced performance as maternal Diana, running the full gamut of emotions and lifting the lid on how many suburban housewives must feel when they take a step back and think about the choices they've made in life, and whether they are where they want to be. Equally, her boorish husband Paul, played like Keith Allen on an off day by Kevin Drury, moves from uncompromising and selfish, to reflective and defeatist after revelations begin to pour out.

Kathryn Ritchie must have the fewest lines as taciturn Evelyn, but the secret of her performance is in body language and facial expressions. Like a modern stroppy teenager, head buried resolutely in her lifestyle magazine and with a chunk of chewing gum permanently in her mouth, Evelyn is one of those people you just want to give up on because she gives absolutely nothing back. The character's energy is negative and her attitude is at best unhelpful. Ritchie has a thankless role but manages to make Evelyn funny as well as unlikeable, and again, by the end of the play, there's a chink forming in her roll-necked armour.

Lisa Burrows (Diana), Pete Collis
(Colin) and Susie Emmett (Marge)

Finally, Pete Collis gives an energetic, loveable performance as bereaved Colin, although you'd be hard pressed to know he was bereaved. Mourning the loss of the love of his life (or at least, the last 14 months and 23 days), Colin is the brightest, most optimistic and pragmatic of them all. While his friends try and tip-toe around the fact he's in mourning so as not to upset him, Colin is much more realistic in his approach to Carol's death. He loved her unconditionally, and she him, and he's more than happy to talk about what they had without bursting into tears. He is not one to mope or feel sorry for himself, and is just thankful for the time they did have together, and doesn't think too much about the time they won't. It's an empowering way for anybody in mourning to carry on with their lives, and Collis has such a winning manner and sweet face that this positive attitude really shines through and gives the play a fresh and more contemplative direction.

Absent Friends is about six pals who discover some home truths about their lives and where they find themselves as they approach middle age, but it's also about the late Carol, it's about Diana's sister Barbara, and it's about Marge's sickly husband Gordon. It's about regret, and it's about making the most of what you do have, and not dwelling too much on what you don't. It's about how we are influenced and changed by third parties, consciously or not, and how one decision years ago can have repercussions for today and tomorrow.

A bittersweet, thoughtful but also very funny play that will appeal to anybody who has sometimes wondered how they got to where they are, and whether they want to be there. But then, isn't that everybody?

The stats
Writer: Alan Ayckbourn
Director: Michael Cabot
Cast: Kathryn Ritchie (Evelyn); Lisa Burrows (Diana); Susie Emmett (Marge); Kevin Drury (Paul); John Dorney (John); Pete Collis (Colin)
Performed at The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham, September 21st to 26th, 2015. Performance reviewed: September 25th, 2015

Links
Absent Friends on The Old Rep Theatre website (retrieved Sep 29 2015)
Absent Friends UK Tour 2015 website (retrieved Sep 29 2015)
Absent Friends on Alan Ayckbourn's website (retrieved Sep 29 2015)
Absent Friends 2015 trailer (with original cast) (retrieved Sep 29 2015)
Video: How did John and Evelyn meet? (with John Dorney and Kathryn Ritchie) (retrieved Sep 29 2015)