Me, You and The Fit Bloke Next Door – King’s Arms, Salford

It’s not very often I leave a theatre and think “so what”, but I did on Sunday night as I left the Kings Arms Theatre.

I suspect what caused me the problem was the play being written for a “fringe” performance. Pip Carew has written a piece which lasted 60 minutes but would perhaps benefit from lasting a bit longer and the time then used to develop the three characters who inhabit this play.  We are presented with a married couple of whom I know very little. That back story would tell us what lead to this point in their relationship.  As it is, we quickly discover they both fancy the bloke, Alex, from the next flat (of whom we are told a bit more). They proceed to seduce him but make clumsy efforts to engage his interest on their own.  The element of of “will they, won’t they” in the story arc was not, in my view, enough to sustain the hour, but, as I have said, given a little added depth they could have developed the motives that drive the interest of Ruth and Freddie. I will refrain from saying anything about the denouement, except to say it surprised me – in a good way.

Of the cast, Gabriel Jones as the sexually confused Freddie turned in a nice performance composed of frustration and anxiety. He is immensely watchable. Arran Kemp as the titular fit bloke, lounged around the stage but wasn’t given much to do, and perhaps a smarter wardrobe would have helped him.  A missed opportunity for the character and actor. It is with the character of Ruth played by Lottie Burgess, I felt really uncertain. Ruth certainly has much to deal with, but her condition and situation seemed to be thrown away as soon as they were mentioned. Lottie Burgess timed the delivery of some good comedy lines, but I had difficulty with the delivery of her aside comments, which she delivered at a low and sometimes indecipherable level. That is an aspect the directors should address before the production goes to London. We were told at the curtain call this was a preview production for the aforementioned fringe outing. That being the case, there is much to do between now and then.   

A simple, functional but effective set served the cast well and the changes they made to it were effective and well choreographed.

The programme notes tell us this is a “…sexy state of the nation play”. If I’m honest, I don’t think it got there.

Me. You and the Fit Bloke moves to The Camden Fringe 19^th – 23^rd August at The Courtyard Theatre N1 6EU. https://camdenfringe.com/events/me-you-and-the-fit-bloke-next-door/me-you-and-the-fit-bloke-next-door-2/  

Reviewer Philip Edwards

Reviewed: 22nd June 2025

North West End UK Rating: