The Odd Couple (Female Version)

The original Odd Couple was written by Neil Simon in 1965 and made into a film three years later. Then in 1985, he wrote a female version where the inter – reactors are women who meet on a Friday night to play Trivia Pursuit at Olive’s house. When Florence arrives late after being thrown by her husband, Olive invites her to stay at her house to give her time to settle down and recover. Where Olive is messy, untidy and unconcerned about the state of her apartment, Florence is the very opposite, with an obsession verging on mania for good food and impossible cleanliness. As you can imagine, this difference will come to a head and it does so when Olive arranges a date with two Spanish gentlemen. Ah, what happens next keeps us all absorbed – that is the audience and their friends.

The casting of Claire Marchesi as Olive and Ellie Bickerdike as Florence was a stroke of genius as they displayed excellent talent in their roles, with their conflict of ideas and emotions true to life. Congratulations to them both. The other ladies in the cast interacted well and I would not want to run into the policewoman played by Lindi Milbourne. The two Spanish gentlemen who bring everything to a head were great, as played by Eduardo Abellan as Marioto and Caelen Culpeper as Jesus. The played lifted from then as Olive and Florence reacted so differently to their presence.

Susan O’Toole Gridland is to be congratulated initially for her casting and then for the direction of this smooth flowing production. The set was basic to match Olive’s lifestyle, with space for movement, while the place was initially the mess the audience expected. Very good.

Nash Theatre has risen to a consistently higher level of productions and this play is well up there. This was a very good evening at the theatre due to the high standards of everyone involved.

William Davies