Terrible Advice

Saul Rubinek, better known for his acting on screen than his writing for stage, has had to wait until his 60s to see this, the premiere of his first play.

Conceived in the 1970s, Terrible Advice was sparked by his experiences of sitting in a Greenwich Village cafe and overhearing the awful words of 'wisdom' being dished out as liberally as the coffee. It's an interesting idea – how many of our life choices are influenced by the often dubious advice of others?

We meet two 40-something couples, each weighed down by some familiar demons. Playboy Jake (Scott Bakula) is a bad influence on neurotic Stanley (Andy Nyman), whose relationship with the improbably gorgeous Delila (Sharon Horgan) is threatened both by her infertility and the revelations of a recent dalliance – it's not giving too much away to say that Jake's poor advice to his friend may have selfish motivations.

And then there's perhaps the most likeable of them all, the long-suffering Hedda (Caroline Quentin), who is clinging to Jake like a child to a leg in an attempt to heal the scars of her husband's death.

It's very obvious that both Rubinek and director Frank Oz (best known for his work on the Muppet Show) have been heavily influenced by the sitcom formula; at times I half expected Oz to run on and shout 'cut'. The play has a deeply episodic structure, and the staging is functional at best.

But despite my doubts about the material the cast are undoubtedly stellar. Bakula and Nyman capture the essence of their characters as men caught up by the modern obsession with the glamour of dysfunction (the idea that you're only really living if you're sleeping around). And it's always a delight to see comic actresses of Horgan and Quentin's quality on stage - Quentin in particular handles some tricky bits of business with aplomb, at one point changing a car tyre with a slickness that puts Kwik Fit to shame.

This is no modern classic, but nor is it a stinker (unlike some previous comedies at the same address). And when we so often bemoan the leaking of stage talent to television, it's nice to see it running the other way, for once.

- by Theo Bosanquet