The People Are Friendly
Written: by Michael Wynne
Director: Dominic Cooke
Producer: Royal Court
Cast: Paul Broughton, Michelle Butterly, Joe Cooper, Sue Jenkins, Stephen Mangan, Nick Moss, Jack Richards, Sally Rogers, Sheridan Smith
Synopsis: After 12 years in London, Michelle is looking for a fresh start. Selling her poky flat in Clapham, she has bought a large house overlooking the estate where she grew up and the disused shipyards of Birkenhead. Michelle invites her family for a homecoming celebration but the barbecue will not light, the family hates stuffed vine leaves and her sister thinks there's a ghost. Old conflicts reignite and she realises that her new life may not be as perfect as she had planned.
**Cuttings from the popular press***
MICHAEL BILLINGTON for THE GUARDIAN says, "Scabrously funny new play.....Wynne has written a deeply political play"; IAN JOHNS for THE TIMES says, "Even though the pace of Dominic Cooke's production flags a little in the second half ...there are more laughs than gloom in this hugely entertaining evening." NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "Resembles a soap opera's dry run than a drama of inner-city deprivation." He goes on to say, "The People are Friendly negatively reeks of contrivance." CHARLES SPENCER for DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "Dominic Cooke directs with an alert eye for all the comic possibilities, while also capturing the pain that underlies the laughter. " He goes on to say, "This is the most entertainingly awful stage party since the one thrown in Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party all those years ago." JOHN PETER for THE SUNDAY TIMES says, "A dramatised sermon aspiring to be a play."
External links to full reviews from newspapers
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