It is little wonder that Glen Berger's 2001 play has enjoyed over 60 productions in eight countries: it is as zeitgeisty as they come. An "existential detective story" about a lonely Dutch librarian who discovers a sense of purpose in his search for the miscreant who returned a book 113 years late, it offers the twisty-turny whodunit fun of The Da Vinci Code as well as the "we're all connected" reassurance of films like Babel. It is also a brilliant vehicle for its lone performer, and Philip O'Sullivan takes it for the ride of his life.
The conceit is that the Librarian has gathered us together for a presentation on his hunt for the owner of the mysterious, battered Baedeker that arrives in his in-chute. The early parts of the story, as he follows a series of clues to increasingly exotic locations, are engaging and raise expectations of a major dramaturgical payoff that never quite arrives. Berger and O'Sullivan persuade us of the Librarian's conviction that the book's owner is the biblical Wandering Jew, but references to the Holocaust feel strained.
The strongest part of Berger's writing is his depiction of character: the Librarian is saved from being exasperating by his ironic self-awareness. Under Joshua Edelman's direction, O'Sullivan makes you love the character in all his vulnerability, so thoroughly lived and empathetic is his portrait of this fussy, sad creature. Berger would be well advised to cut a dated, ongoing gag about Les Misérables, though: this show is becoming a banner example of the Teflon-coated global hit he attempts to parody.
· Until Wednesday, then touring. Box office: 353 1 700 7000
