There’s a sight gag in Top Coat, Michelle Law’s new play, where a character raises a broadsheet conspicuously towards us. “FREAKY FRIDAY 3 FLOPS,” the headline reads, above an image of the beloved Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis film that has become synonymous with the body swap.
Since its release in 2003, Freaky Friday – itself based on an earlier film, and before that, a children’s novel – has spawned countless spin-offs and imitators. Amid the rabble, there are those which, miraculously, discover new ways into the tried-and-tested format: recent horror-comedy Freaky, for example, where a teenage girl trades places with a serial killer; or the acclaimed anime Your Name, which transfigures its narrative gimmick into a breathtaking tale of lost love. Top Coat doesn’t quite reach these heights, but it still proves itself a worthy addition to the canon.
