Oscar Wilde’s biting, yet truthful, quote “A true friends stabs you in the front” lies at the heart of Rosa Laborde’s world premiere play Interior Design. A deeply funny and deeply moving play about adult friendships, Interior Design is refreshing and compelling. Directed by the inimitable Kat Sandler and featuring four exceptionally talented actors, Interior Design is not to be missed.

With a title like Interior Design, the first thing which would come to mind is the set design, and Shannon Lea Doyle does not disappoint. The set starts out rather plain; white walls (with paint swatches), basic furniture, and some stock artwork are all that the audience are introduced to. It has a somewhat sterile, definitely just moved into feel. But as the play goes on there are some…questionable…changes made to the apartment; some which I absolutely loved, others which are objectively not great. Yet, the apartment does finally look like it belongs to someone; it looks lived in and loved and personal. What struck me was that this set had electrical outlets; it’s one of those funny things which are missing from most sets, and yet it’s not until they’re included that you go “oh hey! Outlets!” And they’re functional too!

The play itself centres on a group of four women: Sophie, Olivia, Cecilia, and Maya. They have been friends since they were 10 years old. Having gone through several major milestones together including graduations, weddings, divorces, and children, they’re now in their late thirties and they’re desperately trying to keep it all together. They’re very concerned about their friend Olivia, who’s been showing troubling signs as of late. However, their idea for an intervention (or, as Maya puts it, conversation) goes awry when it’s suddenly unclear who the intervention is for. As emotions run high and truths are begrudgingly revealed, they inspect the foundations of their friendships and find cracks that are in desperate need of repair.

The way that Interior Design portrays and talks about not only friendship, but in particular female friendship is unlike anything I’ve seen before. There’s no glossy coating or façade to it, or at least not for long. It feels so real; these are the kinds of conversations you need to have with your friends, particularly at this age. Cecilia being not sure why she’s even friends with these girls anymore is a question most of us go through as we move through different stages of our lives. Sometimes we naturally drift apart, sometimes there’s ghosting involved, and other times there’s irreparable damage done. Regardless, it hurts badly, and you truly do grieve that loss as you would any other. The fact that this play is so upfront about it all is so reassuring and sad all at once; it’s nice to know that you’re not alone, but it’s unfortunate that anyone has to go through this.

On top of the discussions around friendship, there are several other hard-hitting topics couched amongst the moments of pure laughter and delight. Again, this adds to the verisimilitude of the play, and allows the very real struggles women face to be front and centre. It made me feel seen, and made me think about my own friends who face similar struggles. It’s rare that a play is able to do this so thoroughly, and I hope it’s a sign of greater things to come in our media, and particularly theatre.

The performances in Interior Design are absolutely stellar. Rong Fu plays Olivia, and certainly has one of the most emotionally difficult parts in the play. She gives these moments of intense discovery and release exceptional grace and vulnerability. Sara Farb’s Sophie resonates with me on a very deep level. Farb brings all of her charm, and also a great deal of fervour to this role; she consistently outdoes herself with each new role I witness. Meghan Swaby is hilarious as Maya; her energy and comedic timing are perfection. Also, as someone who knits, I was watching Swaby as she knit on stage and she did a great job! Anita Majumdar gives Cecilia a bubbly and bright personality like a triple coat of high-gloss paint. She immediately conjured up so many friends and acquaintances in my mind, and yet she gets to show a very sensitive side to that upbeat friend. All of these roles have been written to reflect real, multi-dimensional humans and that shines through in these nuanced performances.

Take your girlfriends to see Interior Design; laugh and cry together, and feel closer to those you love. I truly believe that everyone can relate to this heartwarming story of friendship and how it changes throughout our lives.

Not surprisingly, Interior Design has been extended! It now closes on November 17th. For more information and tickets, visit: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/current-season/interior-design/

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Cover Photo: – (L-R) Anita Majumdar, Rong Fu, Meghan Swaby and Sara Farb. Photo by Jae Yang.

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