Written by Harold Pinter
Directed by John Welch & Liam Mayle
The scene is a government institution, possibly mental or medical and presumably penal, where the inmates are kept behind locked gates and are referred to by number rather than name. In charge is Roote, a pompous ex-colonel who is surely as psychologically disturbed as his charges, and who is abetted by two main lackeys: the quietly sinister Gibbs and a seedy alcoholic appropriately named Lush. There is also the sexy Miss Cutts, whose favors appear to be shared by the various staff members. Among the matters at issue are the disturbing fact that one of the patients has given birth to a baby, though no one has filed an official report about having had sex with her and also the need for Roote to pull himself together to address the understaff Christmas party. In the final essence these bureaucratic crises hardly matter, however, as the play ends as ominously as it began, with a burst of lethal violence which leaves only one survivor to search for answers and, perhaps, to accept responsibility for the chaos which ensues.
Playing at Swansea University
Cast:
Roote – Luke Hughes
Gibbs – Joshua Sweet
Lush – Fred Cooper
Miss Cutts – Pearl Nunn
Lamb – Mo Comfort
Tubb – Ben Carter
Lobb – Emma Davies
