Writer: Alexandra Shaw
Director: Alasdair Linn
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Mundane“
2 / 5
Frances and Jonah, and Sadie and Rich are happy couples, on the surface at least. But nobody truly knows what goes on behind closed doors.
Showcased as a series of conversation snippets, the audience are introduced to the four characters as they navigate various dinners and awkward conversations about their worries and uncertainties. Frances (Eleanor Cross) is hoping desperately to find an agent to publish her book, Rich (Wesley Ruthven) is looking for a new job, Sadie (Mia Haynes-French) is struggling to juggle her busy schedule and Jonah (James Walsh) is worried that Frances suspects him of having feelings for a woman at work. Despite having therapy sessions to calm their anxieties, they struggle to connect with each other and move on past the baggage holding them down.
Ironically, the title of the show is also indicative of the pitfalls surrounding it, because despite multiple scenes, various conversations and a constant stream of set and outfit changes, all it seems to do is start – but never actually go anywhere. The ideas are there – the worries about growing up and taking responsibility, embracing new opportunities and drifting apart from those who signified another chapter in life are all valid and interesting starting points. However, there is little development or progression over the course of 75 minutes for the audience to connect with, leaving the ideas as brief observations rather than fully explored themes.
Shaw’s dialogue is naturalistic, to a fault. Though it is believable, and makes the audience feel like a fly on the wall to genuine conversations, it is filled with too many mundane exchanges that clog up the narrative with boring, bland interactions. The audience don’t need to constantly be shown the couples greeting each other to know it’s a new scene – the pause between scenes and new outfits convey that enough, so constantly hearing “how have you been” “i love your outfit” “when are you next free” etc becomes tedious.
Ruthven is humorous in his role as Rich – portrayed as the outsider of the friend group, and comedy coming from his awkward interjections and personality clashes with the others. Walsh, Cross and Haynes-French do what they can with the script, but there is a lack of chemistry, assumed to be down to the fact that most of the dialogue clinically showcases their disconnect, so the rare moments of warmth and connection between them are only fleeting.
With nothing particularly happening in the storyline – it’s hard to engage with the material. A purpose would really help to ground the narrative better and give the audience a progression or something to root for, because as it stands it’s just a montage of generic conversations between friends.
Runs until 7th November 2026
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