“It’s just a normal dinner party!”

“But it’s not though, is it.”

In a last-ditch attempt to rekindle the spark in their long-term relationship, young couple Matt (Donncha Kearney) and Katherine (Elizabeth Lloyd) decide to host a swingers’ party. A friend of theirs suggests a couple that would be suitable, and they invite them over for dinner. Only one problem – Matt and Katherine can’t work out whether Amelia (Laura McKee) and Elliot (Jonathan McGarrity) know why they’re really there. Matt and Katherine have clearly never been involved in anything such as this before and so barely know how to begin. Should they just come out and ask them? Should they make blatant sexual innuendos and see if they play along? Or should they just all drink tons of wine and hope things develop?

If it wasn’t clear by the title Swing By Around 8, then it is clear within about five minutes that something more than just a dinner party is about to happen. It is hilarious to watch the characters try to break the tension and get to know each other, particularly when they play a game of ‘Never Have I Ever.’ Audience members are laughing throughout at the awkwardness and miscommunications between the four, and we continuously change our minds on whether the pair know. When a policeman shows up (Sam Blake) and Amelia assumes he is a stripper, it makes for a particularly hilarious moment.

The thing I found with the four characters is that you don’t really get a level of emotional investment in the two relationships; neither appear very compatible and barely even seem to like each other. This means that in moments where Matt and Katherine are worrying about where their relationship will be left if the orgy doesn’t work, it’s hard to feel too worried about it. Katherine and Elliot spend most of the evening wildly flirting with each other, making us think that Elliot knows exactly what’s going on, but Amelia spends most of the time boring Matt with the details of failed relationships and insurance, creating the opposite effect.

At only an hour long, the piece is just long enough for the story to develop but not outstay its welcome, and it is only in the last few minutes that the answer is revealed. I found the ending a little underwhelming, but there is no doubt that the cast’s comic timing, physicality and facial expressions make for a very funny show.

Swing By Around 8 is playing at the Bread and Roses Theatre until 6 February. For more information and tickets, see the Bread and Roses Theatre. Photo: David Loveday