Charity worker Sol thinks former child soldier Alice is a victim; she thinks she is a survivor. Sol's sister, Rena, is a teenage tearaway who can quote poetry and writes her own. Oscar is a rich man who lives like a poor one. There is plenty going on in the latest work from Jennifer Farmer - who has already proved her worth with two promising plays, Breathing and Compact Failure.
Moving from London to a school for former child soldiers in Uganda, Bulletproof Soul not only considers the way the west looks at Africa, but also the way we look at each other and the expectations we impose, particularly in family relationships. The flipside of this is the way we present ourselves to the world, creating an image through little lies to manipulate the way in which others see us.
Yes, there is plenty going on; in fact, rather too much on the plot front as Rena, uprooted from Stratford to rural Uganda, forges a relationship with Alice, and uptight, priggish Sol discovers that refusing to eat a KitKat is not always the right decision.
The arrival of Alice's mysterious "uncle", however, proves a plot device too far. Less dramatisation of ideas and attitudes and more organic growth of character and situation would help the play no end.
The most successful scenes are the quietest; particularly, the gently blossoming friendship of Rena and Alice. Production and design sometimes add an extra layer of clunkiness, but the evening has its heart in the right place, and Cassie Joseph and Demi Oyediran as the two teenagers finding themselves and each other are a great pleasure.
· Until March 10. Box office: 0121-236 4455, then touring.
