The World Cup is almost upon us, with urgent questions to be addressed: which member of the England team would you most readily sleep with?
Jonathan Larkin considers this in the following exchange: "Cole?" "Yeah." "Gerrard?" "Yeah." "Beckham?" "Oh yeah." "Rooney?" "Fuck off."
This is a poor time to be mocking wounded Scouse heroes, but let that pass. The most remarkable aspect of the dialogue is that it is spoken by two perfectly ordinary young men.
Anthony and his friend Danny live on a Merseyside estate that European Capital of Culture preparations have so far failed to transform. They're vigorously drawn, in rich Liverpudlian dialect that has a home crowd hooting in appreciation, though foreigners may end up wishing they'd brought a phrase book.
The story of Anthony's sexual revelation bears superficial resemblance to Jonathan Harvey's Beautiful Thing, yet it also demonstrates how far gay drama has advanced in the past 15 years. A character's coming out would once have been sufficient to propel an entire drama. Here, Anthony has to deal with the fact that his announcement is met with almost supine indifference.
Ciaran Griffiths puts in an absorbing performance as Anthony, and Michael Ryan's Danny is a highly likable foil. As a first-time writer, Larkin is still far from the finished article: scenes that ought to simmer to a climax often run out of steam. Nor has he quite discovered the art of revealing more by writing less.
Yet this debut is proof that the Everyman is back producing the next generation of Liverpool playwrights - though it still leaves one vital question: would anyone want to sleep with Peter Crouch?
· Until May 20. Box office: 0151-709 4776.
