Review: An Unromantic Comedy, wonderful escapism, fun relationship comedy

Rosalind Butler’s An Unromantic Comedy was first staged in 2014 and was nominated for a Naledi Theatre Awards Best New Script. The play is on February 4-15, 2025- a short season in Cape Town in the Baxter Studio. T Unfortunately I was unable to attend the opening and saw the play last night, February 11. I thoroughly enjoyed this production and here follows a quickie review. This play is a tonic. The script is clever, wry, perceptive and funny. The script is superb. I can see why it was nominated for a Naledi. Awethu Hleli, Lyle October and Tamzin Williams, from the Baxter’s Fires Burning company are a knockout as a trio caught up in a quagmire of relationships, against the backdrop of  commitment and what that may or may not entail and whether it is possible to navigate roadblocks for a happy ever after.

The narrative follows three 30 somethings. Jason’s (Lyle October) sends a dinner invite to Robyn (Tamzin Williams). She is his ex-fiancée. He thought that he was messaging someone else and it went off by mistake. Oops – the wrong recipient. Robyn arrives and then Nonhle (Awethu Hleli) arrives. She is Robyn’s ex-bestie. I am not going to plot spoil as the fun of this play is watching the twists and turns of love, regret and lust.

The comic timing of the performers is sensational – with a lot of the humour – powered by their gestures (oh, the eye rolls) and body language. Director Craig Freimond injects the space with physical theatre so that they are not just standing there, sniping at each other. Watch out if you sit in the front row – water alert. That is all I will say on that.

Kieran McGregor’s design (set and costumes) sets the scene for these self- absorbed millennials, wanting to find eternal love. The loft apartment is stylish but lacking personal touches, with generic furnishings essential for the nests of 30 somethings who probably don’t spend much time at home. The apartment provides a neutral canvas for the action to erupt during the evening of mishaps.

An Unromantic Comedy reminds me of Noël Coward plays, with protagonists sparking off with witticisms as they thrash out their relationships. This contemporary rom-com with it millennial concerns (freezing eggs to avoid fertility issues etc) riffs off the theatrical aesthetic of an ol’ fashioned rom-com in terms of its staging. I love that.

Young people of today tend to be distracted by the screens of their phones and other devices. In this production, the focus is on each other (besides from the ringing of a mobile phone, here and there), they don’t engage with screens. For instance, there are no pop-up projections onto screens with WhatsApps messages in bubbles. It is all about the dialogue – about the conversations. There is space for the actors to punch out Butler’s terrific script, without interruption by audio visuals gizmos which is something that I expected because of the preoccupation of millennials with their screens.

Without the flickering and flashing of AV, there is the invitation to become immersed in a story as a theatrical experience. It is not a sit-com that we are watching on TV, which we can pause or forward or rewind and then be distracted by adverts. We are sitting in the theatre, where the focus is on the story and these three young people who are desperately trying to find love and excitement. They want to avoid “drowning in the plastic bucket of domesticity” (fabulous line) but they want a long term relationship and commitment.

Relationships are complicated and this play will resonate with people of all ages, who are seeking a happy ever after. It is not meant to be deep and meaningful theatre. An Unromantic Comedy is wonderful escapism, a fun relationship comedy with yummy lines which are very quotable, an entertaining evening at the theatre.

✳ Featured image – Awethu Hleli, Lyle October, Tamzin Williams in Rosalind Butler’s An Unromantic Comedy, February 4-15, 2025. Baxter. Cape Town. Pic: Mark Dobson – supplied,