JUST BETWEEN OURSELVES

NORTHCOTT THEATRE EXETER

Just Between Ourselves is one of Alan Ayckbourn's chillier comedies. The audience may be laughing throughout, but there is a vein of bleakness running through it which reaches its anti-climatic nadir in what one audience member, stepping morosely into the night air, described as "a pessimistic ending on an EastEnders scale". This is not a feelgood play, even if the standard of both the comedy and the acting are considerably higher than that in Albert Square.

Set across the birthdays of the various characters, it is the story of Dennis (Jon Strickland), whose motto is "a smile costs nothing" and who potters oblivious through the emotional and physical collapse of those around him. "All this house needs is a little bit more of people being able to laugh at themselves", he murmurs as his wife (Lesley Meade) tips into a nervous breakdown as a result of his constant 'harmless joshing' and his mother's extreme mother-in-lawness.

Dennis is a finely crafted portrait of kevlar-coated amiability, and one for which Jon Strickland could have been precision-moulded. His exquisitely observed performance lulls the audience into laughter, leading them chortling to the point where they suddenly become unsure what exactly they were laughing at. Both Strickland and director Robin Herford have spent many years working with Ayckbourn, making this production a sample from the original spring at Scarborough.

The fine detailing of the performances and the subtle intricacies of the script are complemented by the minutiae of Michael Holt's set - a reproduction to the smallest and most insignificant particular of every junk-filled suburban garage. The whole production resounds with this tight attention to detail. It is a consummate study of an ordinary world where nothing happens, and yet everything changes. Perfect Ayckbourn, in other words.

TOBY O'CONNOR MORSE

until 4 March. (01392) 493493