Theatre Review: Scenes from a Friendship at Nottingham Playhouse

It’s the early nineties in Long Eaton and kids Jess and Billy are rehearsing a classic scene from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for a primary school production. Billy does his best Alan Rickman impression, pretending to kick a rat and tell a raven to shut up. Jess, in a long grey wig, hobbles in as the white witch Mortianna to predict the future for the Sheriff of Nottingham. It’s very funny, and the first of many nostalgic and local references woven beautifully into Scenes from a Friendship, the latest work by Nottingham playwright, Jane Upton.

We meet Jess and Billy as loud, enthusiastic primary schoolers, before time-hopping scene by scene through their lives. Think One Day without the calendar constraints. Oh, and as the title suggests, this love story is purely platonic.

In the early days, the who-said-what, who-fancies-who teen dramas mirror their shared love of actual drama and their big dreams of making it as actors. Billy is set up as the more gifted of the two with plans to go to drama school and a career in the arts a done deal. The outwardly confident Jess believes in him, but not in herself. There’s banter, silly dancing and selfies on a disposable camera. Then, in amongst the music and neat Malibu, there’s a brave confession followed by a nasty hate crime. Smart writing and beautiful acting manages these difficult subjects with great care and humour. The dialogue is kept tight, but always natural, always true. 

Jess cheers Billy on as he recounts his first sexual experience, then picks up the pieces when it ends in rejection. Underneath it all, Billy is having a tough time at home. He escapes Long Eaton and heads for the bright lights of London, only to wind up - like so many - trapped in a job he never really wanted and dismissing his childhood ambitions as silly and unachievable.

Jess meanwhile is settling down in her hometown and finding her voice as a writer. Their relationship becomes fractured – a series of phone calls with snippy, jealous undertones. Their waking hours never quite aligning. Their lifestyles now worlds apart.

But when Jess is rocked by a traumatic birth, Billy rushes to her side, his turn to pick up the pieces. They enter their parent era together, sleep deprived and anxiety-ridden, their relationship more love-hate than love, tension simmering until they’re screaming things they don’t mean on a London Underground platform. An argument that burns their friendship to the ground so they can finally remember what they mean to each other and rebuild it.

The two leads bring this whole piece to life against a stark white backdrop with just a few simple props. A white grid that cleverly contains a lifetime of memories makes up the walls and floor. Look closely and you’ll see hundreds of photographs that gently catch the eye when lit. There’s a bed for teenage gossip and hospital scenes. A desk and a chair for eating crisps and holding up heavy heart to hearts. A set of drawers for those landline phone calls and later, baby clothes.

For 90s teenagers in particular, every little reference in this production is a dopamine hit. How can you not smile knowingly at the mention of a Ben Sherman shirt, laugh at the memory of lightening your hair with Sun In, or be transported back in time by a Nokia ring tone? If you grew up in Notts, you’ll find an extra layer of delight in the accents, the place names, the mention of the little Tesco and (yay for us) the Left Lion.

It’s hard to see how anyone could top Katie Redford as Jess – her Long Eaton roots adding a special connection to the piece. And the partnership between her and Benedict Salter as Billy, as two people who never quite feel good enough and yet always manage to see the best in each other, is a joy to watch. Nineties nostalgia set in Nottingham is your new BFF.

Scenes from a Friendship is at the Neville Studio, Nottingham Playhouse, until Friday 12 June 2026