Prue Blake was never the popular girl growing up, spending her formative years “developing a personality” instead of bonding with the gals. From this premise springs forth Unfriended, a darkly hilarious meditation on the nature of friendship tracing Prue’s friend break-ups over the years.
The show hinges upon one central metaphor. According to Prue, “friendship is like a marathon, pointless and no one cares”. Through detailing the heartbreak and strange relief of friendship breakups, Prue has a lesson to teach us. Maybe being a “difficult person” isn’t the worst thing you could be, and maybe not all friendships are meant to be of the everlasting BFFL variety.
This is Prue’s first solo show at Melbourne International Comedy Festival; however, she’s already scored accolades in the form of the 2020/21 RAW Comedy National Championship crown and a prestigious Moosehead Award grant for Unfriended. She also performed at Edinburgh Fringe last year - what a warmup for MICF!
Tonight, she’s in top form weaving a fast-paced web of personal history from the schoolyard to schoolies and her time as a town planner pondering problems like “How do you get people to ride the bus in Melbourne?” (you can’t). Outrageous quips like “I’m more than just my pubes” and “wet wipes are nature’s shower” fill the Town Hall’s intimate Backstage Room with uproarious laughter that bounces off the walls.
Prue keeps it light and snappy with one-liners and neatly matched callbacks galore, but there’s also some serious wisdom in here about self-acceptance and growth. And if you, like Prue, struggle to keep friends for the long haul, this show proves you’ve got other options. After all, Prue’s mum spent her entire childhood telling her, “I’m not your friend”, only to come crawling back when Prue was in her thirties, looking for a bestie.
Unfriended is on at Melbourne Town Hall until Sunday, April 23, and this is your official warning to snap up a ticket before it closes. If there was any show to attend by yourself, it’s this one, so stop waiting for your ‘friends’ to say yes and snap up a ticket. Or bring your mum, she’d probably love to hang out!
