You have to pity the shopworkers who deal with the frenzy of January shoppers, that stampede of people trying to get their hands on something they did not particularly want for slightly less than they might otherwise have paid for it. Nick Lane's play is set on the frontline of a Hull department store at the point when the season of goodwill turns ugly.
Lane introduces a bleary-eyed and hungover sales team, whose double-time Boxing Day rate might better be described as danger money as they contemplate the gathering mob outside. "It's like Zulu with tinsel," they observe.
Yet Hull Truck has never been a theatre company to shy away from a scrap. Lane's production employs many of the artfully choreographed, slow-motion moves that have previously brought rugby, all-in wrestling and nightclub chucking-out time to the stage. The only problem is that among the ensuing melee he neglects to include a coherent play.
Lane makes a gesture towards fleshing out the characters by issuing each with a monologue outlining how unfulfilled they feel at Christmas. But he undermines the effect by requiring the actors to double as a parade of stereotypes - a harassed mother, a bored boyfriend trailing his partner around the store, a sozzled Santa who does not like kids, and so forth.
And there is a slapdash feel to the dialogue, which makes frequent visits to the bargain basement for its humour. The state of the shop floor is likened to "a jumble sale organised by Stevie Wonder". If you can find a laugh cheaper than that anywhere this Christmas I will refund the difference.
· Until January 19. Box office: 01482 323638.
