This small venue where every show is home-produced has punched above its weight these past 18 months: its production of La Bohème is to transfer to Soho theatre. But it's not boxing clever with this devised piece that claims to be the first full-length theatrical response to the general election. In fact, the election barely figures in the story of two neighbours whose friendship is threatened when Kate and Simon decide to send their child to the new parent-led private school rather than the local comprehensive. Tom is outraged, confident that he and his teacher wife, Jen, would never desert the state system.
The personal may be political but here it's like a mildly tedious middle-class episode of EastEnders as principles are slowly eroded by pragmatism, even when it turns out that one of the school's donors also supports the BNP. That thread is underdeveloped, while others, such as Kate's sister's search for love requires us to take more interest in her ticking biological clock than an 80-minute play really has time for.
The issues are real and not often explored on stage, but the devised script doesn't allow for depth, nuance or even coherence. It often feels as if it's being improvised on the spot, but sadly not in a fresh, new-minted way.
The performers are heroic, particularly in the face of unintentional laughter, but there are several rabbits-caught-in-the-headlights moments. Only Matthew Field as Simon, a man who thinks football more important than his wife, and James Powell as the priggish Tom offer any complexity of character, and the piece swiftly becomes a demonstration of six actors in search of an author.
