Review: THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO, Park Theatre

Some things in life are unavoidable. Death, taxes, and ABBA. Like it or not the Swedish supergroup are a ubiquitous part of any night out on the town with at least one of their pop ballads guaranteed to make a sonic appearance to rapturous clamour from the crowd. You couldn't escape them if you wanted to.

No matter if you are a Super Trooper super fan or an ABBA cynic standing small, The Way Old Friends Do's heartfelt warmth is hard to resist. A tribute to the tribute bands, Ian Hallard's new play is an enchanting love letter to the Swedish supergroup, not just celebrating their catchy tunes, but music itself, the way it indescribably adds colour to our lives, and helps us forge a sense of ourselves.

Estranged school friends Peter (played by an endearingly lovable Hallard) and Edward (a Noël Coward-like James Bradshaw equipped with witticisms to match) reunite via Grindr. In a slightly contrived but knowingly tongue-in-cheek bit of dramatic concocting, they form a ragtag drag ABBA tribute band with the scatter-brained Jodie, a young out of work actor, and geriatric local repetiteur Mrs Campbell. After a successful first performance things spiral and soon they are on tour as a fully-fledged tribute act.

Sure, it is a tad Hollyoaks in places; the plot evolves into a bloodshot love triangle after an Australian roadie worms his way into the band. Everything begins to fray at the satin seams and the band's future is suddenly at stake. But it's a play about ABBA. How could it not occasionally indulge in gleeful melodramatic schmaltz?

But Hallard's finely paced writing only dips its toes in the waters of parody. It finds its heart when it delves into more tender subjects like ABBA's queer appeal and anxieties about coming out to family members. The slow burn reveal of Edward's inner self-hatred, masked by a façade of facetious flamboyance, is a particularly emotionally hefty moment that balances the dramatic scales between levity and poignancy.

ABBA's music is not just the soundtrack to Edward and Peters' lives as queer men, it underpins their struggles with and celebrations of identity. The music becomes a beacon of communal warmth, there for them when they are at their highest and lowest. Shakespeare said it best: "if music be the food of love, play on." Or maybe "thank you for the music" is more fitting.

Despite its huge heart, the writing never takes itself too seriously, finding room to poke fun at ABBA obsessives who argue over trivia like rabbinic scholars (r-abba-nic, geddit?). It is a difficult tightrope walk and Hallard makes it look easy. Admittedly he has a helping hand from the artistically chameleonic Mark Gatiss, his real-life husband, who polishes the writing's comedic edges from the directorial driving seat without breaking a sweat.

The Way Old Friends Do plays at the Park Theatre until 15 April

Photo Credit: Darren Bell