With just 59 minutes left to spend in one of my favourite haunts, I was refused entry because last admissions were an hour before closing time.
So when a romantic young couple, happily ensconced on a park bench watching the ducks, are suddenly divided by a new border being drawn between them – and forbidden to cross over by a military jobsworth – they definitely won my sympathy.
Entertaining though it is, Kieran Lynn’s short new play isn’t really much more than an over-extended comic sketch with serious undertones.
But the three performances are winning – Florence Hall’s Olivia trying to keep up with the local politics which have suddenly seen her country split in two by a roll of tape, Tom Bennett’s laidback Arthur who fancies leading the easy life of a duck untroubled by important issues, and Marc Pickering as the goofy border guard in full combat gear whose intransigence – and confusion over the functioning of his stun gun – far outweigh his brainpower.
Trafalgar Studios 2
Whitehall, SW1A 2DY
Until 15th September, £20
Tube | Charing Cross
atgtickets.com/trafalgarstudios
