The Unfriend to return to the West End with Lee Mack

Steven Moffat’s comedy The Unfriend will make its West End return this winter.

Award-winning comedian and actor Lee Mack (Would I Lie To You, Not Going Out) will star in the show, following in the footsteps of Reece Shearsmith, while Sarah Alexander (Jonathan Creek, The Green Wing) will play Peter’s wife Debbie, originated by Amanda Abbington.

Also cast are Nick Sampson (Witness for the Prosecution, Anthony and Cleopatra), who will play The Neighbour, while Frances Barber (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool) returns to play Elsa Jean Krakowski.

Mack said: “I’m delighted to be joining The Unfriend with the brilliant Sarah Alexander and the wonderful Frances Barber, and of course all the other amazing cast. It’s such a fantastically written play by Steven Moffat that I might even go the whole hog and learn the words.”

It received a solid four-star review for its initial West End stint at the Criterion.

The show follows an unassuming couple who invite a serial killer to stay with them. Directed by Mark Gatiss, The Unfriend is designed by Robert Jones, with lighting by Mark Henderson, sound by Ella Wahlström, video design by Andrzej Goulding and casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG.

It will now play at the Wyndham’s Theatre, beginning performances on 16 December and with dates through to 9 March 2024.