80 Minutes No Interval

We meet Louis (Ryan Johnson), a character who is, was, and will always be unlucky. He loses the engagement ring at the restaurant where he plans to propose to his girlfriend, he loses his job as a theatre reviewer to a little red box, he loses his flat, because his parent's think it's time he finds his feet — and gets out of their flat. And then when presented with an opportunity he could only dream of — to have his book published — he loses that too, in a moment of generous absurd slapstick.

The whole cast play up their characters for laughs, brutal laughing-at-ourselves laughs. Cotton directs his own play to a fast pace, making us feel tenderness for Louis (but never sad), and rarely letting a joke leave the stage without a chuckle. This is a play that pokes fun, nay, is fun, helping make theatre watchable again.