Do you know anyone well enough to spot changes in their behaviour, and do you care for them enough to follow them when they slip away from a stag do in case they might do something stupid?
Greg does, and when Leo leaves Archie’s pre-nuptial piss-up in Krakow on fancy dress night, it leads to an hour of heart-searching and revelation.
Leo and Greg’s conversation looks at friendship, loyalty and duty, themes that in this comedy drama could be probed more deeply for a more fulfilling watch but still deliver an engaging 85 minutes.
The writing balances well Leo’s predicament of having to stand by the decision he has made to leave when in fact whatever choice he takes, the only certainty is someone being very badly hurt, and Greg’s grappling for the best when the right thing to do depends on where you're standing.
Life can be messy, and Joe Facer’s play doesn’t put either Leo’s or Greg’s standpoint in a light to the detriment of the other. To do so could only cast judgment which has no place in a play that sees the ties of brotherhood fray when the chips are down and there is no one to blame.
Sam Daltry directs Facer as Greg and Michael Schenck as Leo. Daltry succeeds in drawing out the comedy without diminishing the underlying adversity, but I couldn't fathom the ritual that accompanied placing the props used in the flashbacks at the front of the stage.
I missed feeling a really strong bond between the characters and a sense of peril arising from the situation, but both Facer and Schenck’s performances are genuinely moving in places, even if it is easier to warm to the well-intentioned Greg.
The reference in the publicity material to “Inspired by England’s mythical history“ only clicked into place the day after seeing A Carry On In Krakow. Now that it has, there is a nostalgically warm glow to the piece that I didn’t intuit whilst watching that brings home the timelessness of the story, reinforcing the charming northern-ness of this slice of real life.