After an act of unfaithfulness, a seemingly ordinary British couple book a holiday together to try and salvage their relationship. We watch as the couple, Mark and Fran, attempt (a little lopsidedly, perhaps) to repair the damage and get back on track. But what at first seems to be a relatively ordinary escapade into a failing relationship ends up being a surprising adventure across time and place. Mark hasn’t booked just any holiday in a last-ditch attempt to repair his and Fran’s relationship, but a time-travel holiday that takes them from ancient Rome and back, via Regency England and 1940s New York – to name but a few.

Watching Suspicious Minds is an experience akin to a radio drama. The four actors remain seated at desks for the duration of the play, folders containing scripts in front of them, and on one desk two actors make all of the sound effects required by the piece with a variety of props. The result is cinematic, replicating the “foley” techniques used to make sounds in film.

This is a fun, clever way of staging the impossible demands of Tom Fowler’s script, and the cast perform these sound effects with wry enjoyment. However, a little more consistency with the effects wouldn’t have gone amiss – the use of a pair of shoes to signal walking is only used a handful of times, which is a slightly confusing addition. The sound effects, moreover, are at their most impressive when the prop used to make the noise is not the one being described (highlights being a horse and cart ride through Ancient Rome). It would have been enjoyable to see more of this innovation.

Fowler’s script is brilliant, treading the line between epic travel and focusing on the ins, outs, and ordinariness of Fran and Mark’s relationship. Their failing relationship is examined brilliantly both through their own anecdotes – the tangible memories and history that tie them together – and through the surroundings around them. A fatal accident, a famous sinking ship, and, finally, an iconic Elvis song sung by the man himself bookmark the doomed but touching attempt to keep their relationship alive. It’s clever writing, but Fowler manages this without ever losing touch with the humanity of the story.

It’s still a piece that needs a little work and refining; the plays structure perhaps lingers on certain parts of the story for too long, others for too little. But this is the play’s first proper outing after having been in development for a year, and it’s great that Suspicious Minds is getting the run it deserves. With a talented cast carrying a thought-provoking, wacky subject, it’s certainly a daring piece to attempt. It’s a risk that, for the most part, pays off.