A show aimed squarely at the date-night crowd that’s silly
and fun, providing its mainly female audience with plenty of laughs in this
charming production. Those firmly used to spending their Fridays watching
If you’re looking for a great girls night out, Would Like to Meet has plenty to recommend it.
Sophie Dearlove is Liz, a woman in an unhappy relationship with Gordon, once Gorgeous Gordon, now simply Gordon the accountant. Longing for escape and release, Liz sporadically fantasises about her own husband’s demise. Opposite Liz, Laura Tindle is the habitual dater Ally, constantly on the look-out for that would-be husband. Whilst Liz and Ally search for solutions to their lives, Stuart Barham and Neil James are men-folk on the periphery and flitter in and out of scenes in several roles.
The cast have the occasional dodgy accent which detracts from the dialogue, but Dearlove is the standout and nails every scene she’s given. Her character is more rounded, with the longest and loudest laughs coming from her witty earnestness and the show is at its strongest during her scenes which become ever more enjoyable.
Sprinkled throughout the show are speed-dating montages and real-life dating horror stories. The speed dating scenes successfully add to an on-going plot line and provide some substantial rapid-fire passages. Whilst the dating tales have moments of humour, they ultimately add little to the narrative and could well do with being removed. Dating facts and figures appearing during these tales seem out of place, as do the occasional graphics that pull attention from the drama unfolding. The show is at its strongest developing Janet/Liz/Ally et al’s plot and the second half delivers many more laughs, with the pay-off in the final scene being cleverly set up.
If you’re looking for a great girls night out, Would Like to Meet has plenty to recommend it. Best enjoyed with several large glasses of chardonnay and a few friends, Would Like to Meet is at its best when sticking to traditional rom-com fare and wouldn’t seem out of place following an episode of ‘Friends’ on a Friday night.
