There is acting to die for in the British premiere of Lee MacDougall's Canadian play about a quartet of morphine addicts planning the perfect bank robbery. Well - as perfect as last time, when they all ended up in jail doing eight to 10 years. This is definitely one for the boys, a production that shoots straight from the hip.
Cross one of those Ealing comedies about bumbling crooks with a splash of David Mamet and a dash of Carination, and you get the gist of this ballsy, boysy, black comedy whose end is signalled widely in its beginning. The pleasure comes entirely from watching the boys muck it up. They are no more competent or responsible for their actions than a group of hyperactive toddlers let loose in an armaments factory. Somebody is going to die. With its slew of witty one-liners, mostly at the men's expense, it's a perfectly enjoyable and sometimes extremely funny evening. With the wrong production team, the characters might emerge as no more than paint-by-numbers creations designed to complement each other emotionally and fit the plot. But here the acting is so frighteningly authentic that you keep forgetting the purpose of the evening is recreational.
Nigel Planer's Donnie commits his crimes kindly but his body is so abused by drugs it's a miracle he can stand up at all. Paul Barber as the aggressive bug and Jo Mackay as pretty new boy Billy are really terrific. But David Schofield walks away with the show as mastermind and arch-manipulator Dick, an eternal optimist and joker who never quite realises that the joke is on him.
Until July 10. Box office: 0181 743 3388.
