Office Party Xmas works like this: you are given a badge and allocated a department for a company about to hold its annual office party. I was in "domestic support", and was led away with the rest of my workers by our team leader, Mary, who offered us brandy, jellied fruits and encouragement. Then it was into the thick of the party, the Pit transformed to include a bar, a disco floor and lots of safety notices. What followed was a mix of cabaret and party games.
It is a terrific concept, but, like a great many real office parties, does not live up to its promise, not least because it lacks both density and a structure to hold the bits together. Chip King, the drunken, leering CEO, makes a speech; there are some party games, with questions such as: "Was Chip's last job as head of a) Euro Disney or b) Abu Ghraib." There is a cabaret courtesy of Christopher Green and Ursula Martinez that includes an appearance from Tina C, and a suitably cheesy version of Lady in Red.
All this is fine, but it often feels as if the audience, rather than the performers, are the glue. We need to know more about the relationships of key characters, and more about the company itself. The Christmas-pudding-eating competition hints at the direction in which the show might go, but for now it's less a party than a party pooper.
· Until December 29. Box office: 020-7638 8891.
