THEATRE REVIEWS

What do they roll up in the paper and burn in front of you? The main character in this play did just that and the audience had to share it with the actors on the stage. Guessed what this play is about yet? Playing God is Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran's idea of how to get over a play about cancer. Does it work? Well if it does, only just, and it's supposed to be a comedy.

Ex rock band player Ed, played with skilful deterioration by David Cardy, has learned that he has cancer and being the joke puller that he is, he sets up his friend Clive, played by David Sibley, a BBC religious broadcasting executive, to take on his wife when he dies. Henri, played most effectively by Becky Hindley, is great at fitting into suits, suspects her husband Clive is having an affair and spends the play trying to find out with whom. The pawn in all this is Ed's wife Claudia, played by Clare Swinburne, in short nighties with trousers. That's it really. Well that gives you the flavour of this ill conceived soap opera brought to the stage. The plot is well used, but this time the added ingredient is cancer.

This is all set against Pip Leckenby's design, that goes slightly wrong in putting the radio studio scene high up amongst the audience where it could not be viewed by all. Director Laurie Sansom could have had the same effect with a voice off stage, but he does like these remote stage settings that do not work.

The actors work hard and deserve credit for their slick work, but it was hard to say what effect it had on the audience who showed polite appreciation at the end, but who knows what they were thinking as they left the theatre? © BA

“Playing God” is in repertory at the Round in Scarborough from the 30th June to the 3rd of September, 2005. This is a No Smoking theatre.