What’s it all about?
Album sleeve designer and McDonald’s toy collector Alex is moving into his new flat. The boxes are in and he’s beginning to unpack his beloved framed collections when along comes Juliet, a fellow 20-something who believes that she should be moving in instead. Estate agents and burly boyfriends are called in an attempt to remove Alex from the property that Juliet considers is rightfully hers, but Alex isn’t budging and neither is she…
Who’s in it?
Miranda Raison makes for a selfish, spoilt, overbearing Juliet who will get her own way whatever the cost. Comically flirtatious and infuriatingly self-centred, she’s paid the price in best friends and boyfriends, yet she hasn’t even come close to learning her lesson.
As her complete antithesis, Shaun Evans brings a whole lot of endearing geekiness to his portrayal of Alex, providing witty lectures on the function of a thermostat and the beauty of order.
This laid-back observer of all his new flat mate’s faults and his aggressive grenade of a lodger who could blow at any moment prove an amusing combination under the direction of Tamara Harvey, who returns to the Hampstead Theatre following her success with In The Vale Of Health.
The two remaining cast members Luke Neal and Bathsheba Piepe, while only present on stage for a very small proportion of the show’s duration, bring even more humour to Alex and Juliet’s conflicts as a soon to be ex-boyfriend and a mysterious ‘mover’.
What should I look out for?
Moments that make you laugh, moments that make you cry and moments that make you want a cheese and egg sarnie.
In a nutshell?
The wit of Peter Souter’s script sparkles in this romantic comedy that proves that opposites really do attract.
Will I like it?
The Laurence Llewelyn-Bowens and Kelly Hoppens of this world should probably stay away, as interior designers will no doubt recoil in horror at Alex’s vision-lacking picture-hanging. Everyone else, however, is likely to enjoy an entertaining evening full of warmth, comedy and compelling character dynamics, and be glad that Tamara Harvey’s production, which started life at the Swiss Cottage venue’s more intimate Downstairs space, is back at the Hampstead Theatre once again.
Hello/Goodbye is playing at the Hampstead Theatre until 28 February. You can book tickets through the venue’s website.