By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN? Sunday 23 March, runs through 11 April 2026 RUNTIME: 80 minutes (no interval)

What would you do if the ex-boyfriend you ghosted for 10 years put you down as his emergency contact and the hospital called to ask you to pick him up after an accident?

• Read on for reasons including how this captivating 2-hander refuses to let its audience out of its vice-like grip

We 1st saw John McCrea originating the titular role in musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in Sheffield in 2017 and here he plays Jude with the action opening at 3am in his swanky if malfunctioning flat as he tends to his wounds in the bathroom and his ex Kyle, a mysterious Perry Williams, is busting to use the toilet.

There’s no shifting Jude who’s offstage and hilariously Kyle contemplates relieving himself in an ornament on a shelf before finding a bag of drugs there which puts him off and he replaces it.

This is a 2-hander by Louis Emmitt-Stern and the writing is strong with Jude and Kyle believable as ex-lovers and their chat humourous but also leavened by the familiarity and bitchiness that only those who have been in a relationship gone sour will understand.

Why does Jude have drugs hidden in a front room ornament? How did he sustain the injuries he was treated for in A&E?

Why did Jude and Kyle break up? Why did Kyle ghost him for 10 years?

Why is Jude making pasta (pictured above) at 3am in the morning?

These are just some of the questions that you’ll be puzzling over as this captivating 2-hander refuses to let its audience out of its vice-like grip.

Ultimately, we felt 80 minutes was about right for this play.

It presents us with a neatly-tied bow of a story-within-a-story at the show’s conclusion which felt satisfactory without ever wanting to spend much more time in this needy pair’s company.

• Main picture by Ali Wright via Facebook courtesy Omnibus Theatre Tickets
• Have you seen an Omnibus Theatre show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this preview? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook