Willie Winkle is an immigration officer at the National Alien Office. He is, he says, very average, the most ordinary of mortals. But in room seven on the sixth floor of the building where he works, Willie is like a little god, exercising power over the lives of those for whom his decision is a matter of life and death. But the job is starting to get to Willie. In the toilets, his guts are in turmoil and he is wondering whether he has a heart. The story of one refugee has got under his skin. Willie keeps scratching it until the wound is weeping.
Stanislas Cotton's play won one of Belgium's premier awards, which says quite a lot about the state of playwrighting in Belgium. Veronique Van Meerbeek's production is chic and slick, but the whole thing seems like an intellectual exercise, lacking an emotional centre. In placing the story of the immigration officer centre stage rather than that of the immigrant (who is only given a voice in the concluding section), the play subscribes to the very cultural norms and attitudes you imagine it is trying to redress.
Michael Brown is very good as the immigration officer and Nick Oshikaniu brings dignity to the would-be immigrant. But with its repetitions and fancy staging, the 90 minutes are very much a case of style over substance, doing nothing to confound the power stereotypes or play the midwife sufficiently to bring either character into full life.
· Until May 22. Box office: 020-8237 1111.
