[Elle]

I didn't find it dated at all ~ regardless of the time it was set it still deals with four characters laden with problems (I could identify so perhaps it seemed more real in that sense). It was very well cast and I personally liked the script but I saw a mid-week matinee and I wonder if maybe the actors were holding back a bit. It's a complex play and within such an intimate studio space every slight nuance counts. I rate Matthew Marsh very highly and think he played his role very well... and although he wasn't playing a sympathetic character I felt sympathy for him. **SPOILER** How does one get to a place where they hate going home, where they drink so much, where they don't want to deal with the potential suicide of their own daughter calling them up for help... I thought if anything it could've been much grittier... ***SPOILER*** i.e cop taking drugs, giving drugs ~ the physical/psychological effect not only on the druggie but the cop ~ Of four very strong performances Sean Chapman was the weakest. I wanted him to reflect his character's disillusionment more (Vietnam vet). Colin Morgan as a young father and drug addict gives a good performance. Pure in a sense as the innocent sacrifice. Corey Johnson stood out the most for me on the whole ~ fantastic stage presence. Solid and very physical. Made it seem all the more real. Perhaps where Marsh's character couldn't cope he seemingly could but one suspects it's all a hard cover as he's a drug addict too... For me it's a four-character study and aside from the studio set-up (you've got audiences either side of the stage) I was very impressed. Very good production but perhaps could've been great (maybe on a Fri or Sat night...).

[Backdrifter]

I didn't feel it was dated, and yes I like Marsh too, but I felt no sense of movement, of being taken anywhere. By the time I left, I didn't feel it had achieved anything for me - a 'so what?' piece. And all that upstairs section of the set... why?

Have they sorted audience entry out? The day I went, entry and exit were via very limited routes and were arduous.