Ross & Rachel

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"We were on a..." "DON'T SAY IT!!" Friends fans will be delighted that the famous line makes it into this show. But what is it that makes people that are destined to be together look for ways out of relationships they've always wanted? Molly Vevers dissects this topic by playing both of her leads in this one woman show.

They spent their twenties and thirties flitting between each other, and now in their fourties, a happy couple decide to marry. Yet she is irritated by the small things: she's addressed last in emails, and sometimes, she's not included in emails at all. Such is the malaise of married life. Vevers takes this potent, lifelike scenario to its close by way of her husband's illness, while author James Fritz's script asks questions about the likelihood of cancer affecting the way a couple spend their final months together.

Ross & Rachel is most troubling and effective when it tackles its subjects hardest. A life beyond the one she has with her husband turns the play towards the difficult issues of renewal and regeneration – perhaps the taboos of post-married life.

Vevers plays her leads with exasperating passion, though sometimes her shoutiness can work to the detriment of what she is actually trying to say. In these moments, her anger is misplaced. Thankfully, though, Ross & Rachel for the most part unmasks the clichés of marriage. We must be careful what we wish for: for all of its joys, there is work involved in the processes of love.