SUTCo’s The Odd Couple was a joy to watch. It was entertaining and funny at all the right moments, and I enjoyed how humour was used to deal with some fairly heavy themes within the play. The Odd Couple is set in Olive’s apartment, with the play opening with her enjoying a games’ night with four of her friends. We watch as they all become increasingly worried about Florence, another friend, who they find out has just been dumped by her husband of fourteen years. When Florence finally arrives at Olive’s apartment, she is clearly very upset, and she is at a loss for what to do next. Olive therefore invites her to stay, for the rest of the performance, we watch how their relationship develops during the course of them living together.
I was impressed by the high standard of acting throughout the show, however, for me, the standout performances of the night came from Kate Fraser, playing Olive, and from Toma Hoffman, who was playing Hans, one of Olive’s German neighbours. I thought that Fraser did a great job of showing us the depth of her character, and Hoffman really brought the comic elements of his character to life.
During the scene changes, the audience was treated to a game of trivial pursuit, which was highly entertaining and was a great way of getting the audience involved. The entertainment value of these sections was increased, perhaps inadvertently, by Jennie Beattie’s questionable ability to throw Celebrations at people. These games were a great way to allow time for the stage to be cleared of props whilst not allowing the audience to get bored between scenes. I loved watching people around me get involved!
I thought the performance was very well put together. The transitions between scenes made sense which made the progress of the play easy to follow. Furthermore, the actors maintained high energy levels throughout, and I was especially impressed by the energy that Toma Hoffman and Louis Josa brought after the interval, which helped to keep the audience engaged right up until the end of the play.
Overall, I’d recommend going to see SUTCO’s The Odd Couple if you get a chance. I came away from it in a better mood for having spent a couple of hours laughing at the uncountable comic moments. I was also left wondering about Florence’s future, since the last scene does not wrap up every last threat. However, this isn’t a bad thing at all: it allows the story to continue developing long after the final bow!
Rating: ★★★★☆
