Right off the bat the two performers, Regan Taylor and Leona Revell, establish an effortless and genuine rapport with the audience. Taylor and Revell have wonderful chemistry with each other and they quickly and authentically bring us into the world of the show. From the outset we know the material is going to be explicit in places, and that some of the stories might hit differently for different audience members.
Structurally, the work is a series of monologues interspersed with scenes in duo and some fun physical representations of online dating spaces. There is a slender but effective plot arc that gives the show an overall shape, and a really pleasing and charming finish.
The entire piece is really well paced, with the 70 or so minutes flying by. A banging soundtrack and judicious lighting highlight the action. I feel like really good direction is mostly invisible when present, and incredibly obvious when not. There are beautiful moments of truth and vulnerability as Taylor and Revell give us insight into their personal struggles and stumbling blocks with intimacy. It really hit home. And, perhaps most importantly, the unceasing humour is managed with the skill of a flight controller at a major international airport.
This show is chock full of laughs; the jokes land, one after the other, without fail. I am literally wiping my eyes as I leave the theatre, and the opening night audience are in stitches from go to whoa.
I really love memoir-based work, and I think part of the strength of FWB: Friends With Boundaries is that two great performers are sharing really intimate parts of their lives with us. Knowing these experiences have occurred IRL makes the cringe, the ick, the joy, the honesty and openness of these stories really impactful. While at first glance this show is an extremely funny, and sometimes silly, depiction of sexcapades and dating in the modern world, what I am left with is an experience that really highlights how much we as humans are geared towards connection and intimacy.
