What’s in a name? Review

Theatre Royal, Glasgow – until 5 October 2019

Reviewed by Siobhan Wilson

4****

Amazingly translated and adapted from a French stage production this show is equally enjoyable for both men and woman. When husband and wife duo Elizabeth (Sarah Lambie) and Peter (Tom Datnow) decided to host a dinner party for Lizzie’s brother Vincent (Joe Thomas) and his pregnant wife Anna (Louise Marwood) along side their life long friend Carl (Alex Gaumond) things take a hilarious and hugely relatable twists and turns. All the drama and build up result in contagious verbal diarrhoea of truth bombs. And the cherry on top is the unexpected

This is he perfect role for Joe Thomas to show off his acting abilities, a far cry from The Inbetweeners. He plays the role of the lovable rogue yet successful business man brilliantly. I really enjoyed that the opening and closing of each act was framed by a soliloquy aside from Joe. The transitions from the aside to the performance was seamless.

Had it not been advised that Tom and Sarah were understudies you would have not known. The comradery on the stage between all the actors was effortless and portrayed a relatable family dynamic.

The set was well laid out to allow the show to flow smoothly. Also, simplicity of the set changes had the relevant impact to have their own comedic effect.

One of the funniest shows I have seen in a while, I thoroughly enjoyed this (except 1 joke which all the males laughed at and not a trickle was heard from the female audience members).

This is a great show to go to as a couple or with your brothers/sisters and you will relate to a part or all of it on some level. Well worth getting along to see this.

I would also like to commend the program for this show, I really enjoyed reading the history of the stage production and the information about the cast.