How do I delete a friend?

How do I delete a friend?

(The Unfriend)

A black comedy with a criminal plot and a surprising ending...

The play premiered in 2022 at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester and then hit the West End, to The Criterion. Stevan Moffat, the screenwriter, is also the executive producer of the BBC series “Doctor Who” and co-creator and producer of the popular series “Sherlock” and “Dracula” (a co-production of the BBC and Netflix).

How do I delete a friend? We ask ourselves this question more than once. In the age of social media, just one click away. But is it always? What happens when someone we just met starts to intrude too intensely into our lives?

Learn the story of Debbie, Peter and their new friend... but let's start at the beginning. We present you only the facts. We have no influence on what happens next...

Debbie and Peter are an exemplary British couple, endowed with stereotypical, downright exaggerated politeness. Their manners often become a source of misunderstanding and family tensions. They can't find a common language with their teenage son Alex, who spends all day in front of a computer, or with his sister, Rosie, who dreams of finally being treated like an adult. Moreover, they also do not know how to cope with an intrusive neighbor who constantly overcomes them and poisons life. After all, it is not good to just pay him off with a receipt - after all, they are invariably polite.

Wanting to distance themselves, the couple goes on vacation, where they meet Elsa, an American who speaks her mind, is uncompromising and at times even cheeky. Even though she is so different from Debbie and Peter, it somehow fascinates them.

Holiday conversations and short-term acquaintances rarely turn into something more. Therefore, none of us takes seriously the thrown in passing: “We must meet!”. And yet, sometimes it's worth it?

A new acquaintance does not let you forget about yourself. Debbie and Peter, suspicious of Elsa's intensity, decide to find out more about her. After all, what is the Internet and social media for? After a preliminary investigation, they discover that the woman has several murders to her credit. The couple tries to postpone her visit by playing the corpse, but soon Elsa stands at their door.

What happens next? Will the woman turn out to be an angel or a demon? How will her presence affect the life of the family? Should we believe everything we find on the internet? We will not reveal this, but one thing is certain, it will be like Hitchcock: “First the earthquake, and then the tension will only increase.”

The rights to art are held by ADiT

Premiere - January 4, 2025

Duration 2 h 5 min (with break)

The world premiere of “The Unfriend” took place at the Chichester Festival Theatre in partnership with Playfull Productions.