British comedy always has a point to make and sometimes it's a bitter and sharp one.
That is definitely true of Alan Ayckbourn's edgy seventies comedy Absent Friends, which will showcase at Masterton's Harlequin Theatre starting this Thursday.
A collection of friends, already struggling with seething insecurities, feel obliged tocomfort a distant friend after the death of his fiancee.
But as it turns out, the "bereaved" Colin (Jim Barr) has come to terms with his loss.
His contentment with his lot becomes a catalyst for an epic social and domestic meltdown.
Directed by Marilyn Bouzaid, the cast includes first-timer Phill Wishnowsky, better known to the Times-Age as Wairarapa's principal rural fire officer.
He is joined by Scott Neilson, Simone Sail, Jim Barr, Yvonne Way and Cathy Mabey.
