Given the layers of history right on its doorstep, you would have thought this London venue might have made less of a hash of this slice of walkabout theatre, which leads audiences on what turns out to be a wild goose chase through the streets and alleys of Soho. Divided into four groups - Ravers, Goths, Hippies and Punks - and led by charming but hyperactive guides, we are taken out into the night and through four decades, finishing in the candlelit garden of St Anne's church for a 40th birthday party.
The celebrant is Will, a Chinese boy whom we first glimpse in his pram after his parents have been evicted from their flat. When his father is killed by a racketeer landlord, Will's mother, Shirley, is befriended by Louise, who comes from a family of Italian restaurateurs; Pete, her boyfriend, who is black; and Bernie, a Jewish tailor. Soho's ethnic diversity, therefore, is represented strongly. But curiously, prostitution and sexual diversity are almost entirely ignored until the final moments.
The real pleasure of this shambolic two hours is in the walk around Soho, and the opportunity to glimpse into courtyards that are normally hidden from view. But the everyday activity on the streets is far more engaging than anything conjured by Theresa Shiban's scrappy script or Suzanne Gorman's unfocused production, with its baffling timescale. The whole thing appears to have been conceived on the back of a postcard and executed in 24 hours. And the result is an evening that, though well-meaning, feels like a cynical exploitation of audiences' growing desire to get out of the theatre and promenade.
