Laura's screening with Laura Weaser

Four Flat Whites in Italy (16^th Avenue Theatre)

Directed: Julie Lankshear

Starring: Alan Baker, Christine Giddens, Mike Nicholson, Andrea Cawley, Quentin Pidduck and Anna Robinson.

We've all been there. You end up travelling with some friends, acquaintances or family, but after a few weeks go by, tempers start to fray, frustrations come out and relationships of all kinds are tested.

Four Flat Whites in Italy focuses on Alison (Giddens) and Adrian (Baker) – both retired librarians – who after scrimping and saving finally has enough money to holiday in Italy with their close travelling friends. However, complications arise and the trip seems unlikely to go ahead, until new neighbours Judy (Cawley) and Harry (Nicholson) help them out and agree to travel with them. Personalities clash and tempers rise, making for a comedic journey through Venice, Rome and Tuscany.

The sticking-power of Roger Hall's well-known and frequently-used comedy is the fact it is relatable. I am not middle aged (the two couples and the majority of the audience was), and have not yet been to Italy, but I understand the frustration and strain holidays can put on relationships. And this is what makes it so funny. Alan Baker narrates us through the scenes, adding personal anecdotes and insight into his thoughts as he addresses the audience. With perfect comic timing, he creates the ‘he is saying what we are all thinking' effect.

The cast is superb. Alan's wit provides a counterbalance to Alison's anal tendencies (his word, not mine), just as the more attractive Judy (Cawley) and her foul-mouthed husband (Nicholson) provides a way of life more liberal to the straight laced librarians.

16^th Avenue once again dazzled me with their sets. And I mean, I was seriously impressed. I feel just as much work was done by the backstage crew for scene changes as there was the cast on stage. We were taken to hotels, around the sights of Venice, to restaurants, to a villa in Tuscany and not to mention on a gondola and driving in a Fiat – they had a moved gondola and Fiat on stage. I was captivated the entire time, and by the end I felt like I had been on a journey through Italy (and am now desperate to actually go to Italy).

This play is punctuated (as most stage comedies are) with moments of genuine sadness and personal problems for the characters, creating believable people. These characters were like people we all knew, with my friend commenting on similarities between her mother and Alison's holiday mentality. Set on the background of the Rugby World Cup and a Labour government, the play takes you on a journey of Italy and personal development, encouraging everyone to live their life.