Will Joe Musaphia's play Unbelievable be staged at Repertory? Photo / Paul Brooks
Will Joe Musaphia's play Unbelievable be staged at Repertory? Photo / Paul Brooks
A few days ago I was sent a copy of Joe Musaphia's latest comedy Unbelievable and as usual with Joe's work, it's very funny and very topical.
There's an older couple in lockdown — Wynn and Harry — who are getting on each other's nerves. This pair of old grumpsbicker constantly. It doesn't reflect well on either of them.
To add to their discomfort a bogus 'nephew' walks into their house, which is soon surrounded by the Armed Offenders Squad as 'Smudge' is in fact a dangerous criminal, so he's not a very nice person either.
The chatter is very silly and this kind of petty nonsense and 'stream of consciousness' chatter would need to be delivered at a rapid-fire pace or it would be quite tedious. Such quick delivery demands experienced actors.
Unbelievable should be quite easy to stage as there are only three actors required and all the action takes place in one setting, Harry's and Wynn's lounge, so no set changes are needed.
When I read Unbelievable I was reminded of the hilarious Joe Musaphia play that we've staged at Repertory Theatre twice — Ugly Customers, wherein a normally law-abiding older couple, fed up with the way the bank has treated them, stage an armed holdup.
They make some very good points about the way older people often become 'invisible', of little or no importance.
In Unbelievable Harry and Wynn start to question their own behaviour towards each other and resolve to try and be better people, so it all ends on a positive note.
