The back row of the stalls is probably not the best place to judge this wordy play, but you do notice people walking out. At an hour and a half with no interval you'd have thought these half dozen deserters could have endured. Possibly like me and partner they were on complimentaries and decided they'd rather be at home watching 'Kiss of Death' on TV.

My husband R thinks it may be down to bad language, although surely people know what to expect of a play that's transferred from the Royal Court.

It's one of these dramas that starts with a sizzling first scene and then nothing much else happens except you get to know the characters better. The main character is the flaky uppercrust mother of a teenage son and daughter. The daughter is at boarding school where she's expelled after some business involving drugs stolen from her mother, and the son has dropped out of his school to try to ensure his mother doesn't have to be sectioned - again. The ex-husband is in Hong-Kong but returns to try to talk the school into taking his daughter back.

A clue as to what it's about other than a bunch of monied wasters acting irresponsibly or, in the case of the son, misguidedly, is in the programme, where there's a very lucid and interesting article called 'Monstrous Regiment ' about manipulative females in drama, like Blanche Dubois and Lady Macbeth . The mother in this play is called Martha, like Edward Albee's female lead in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'

I think I'd have enjoyed it more if Lindsay Duncan, playing the mother, had a louder voice.

The author Polly Stenham is under commission to write a second play for The Royal Court, from which this transferred. It says in the programme it was an outstanding success there. I think it probably works better in a smaller space.

So, has anyone a better word to say for this, and what about people who walk out in the middle of plays?

Sheila

Oh, dear, Sheila - I've just bought three tickets to this based on the rave reviews in the press and the fact that I love the main actor in it - can't remember his name but he was brilliant on BBC2's Party People - and the fact that my son loves the young girl in it who is in Channel 4's 'Skins'. Will tell you what I think when I get back - not seeing it till July.

I was going to book after the Sunday papers, but have gone for 'A Disappearing Number' (Complicite group) at the Barbican in October. I saw it last year. It was very clever and a truly inventive night at the theatre. Music by Nitan Sawney helps. I'm also going to The Revengers Tragedy at the NT.. Saw Never So Good last week with Jeremy Irons. He was very good, but otherwise it smacked of a condensed history lesson of Macmillan's life and times... interesting and enlightening but not an emotional experience by any means.

Sarah

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I have walked out of a play twice in my life - once about twenty years ago at a small theatre in Richmond. The play was about Qwen John. It was dire. But I waited until the interval... I would never walk out while actors were on the stage. That would terrible.

The other one was - oh I'm ashamed to say now, as everyone raves and raves about it - Warhorse at the NT last year. I'm afraid that once I'd seen the horse puppets - yes, very clever - I didn't feel it had a lot more going for it. The cast seemed strange to me and I just wasn't convinced. In the interval, my husband looked and me and I looked at him and we both headed for the exit.

On the other hand, if Coram Boy comes back, I would go and see it again like a shot. Fantastic.

Sarah

Jem, as I said, I was at the back of the stalls on a rainy bank holiday when the leading lady may have been having an 'off' night. The young guy was giving it his all, as was the girl who played his sister, but I didn't recognise them until I saw their photos in the programme. I saw the girl in the film 'In Bruges' where she gave an excellent performance and in this play I appreciated her clear voice. She was very competent by under-used.

As I said, I think the main problem was a play with a rather old-fashioned format.

It also occurred to me that the deserters may have been disturbed by the strongly suggested incest theme, which you may wish to be preferred for, or maybe it was just all the intense argument and soul-baring in a very dysfunctional family. I can see it could touch raw nerves for he kind of buttoned-up audience you can get in the West End.My husband said they may have been expecting Terence Rattigan.

I haven't read any of the crits yet, as the tickets were unexpected, but I did make a note of some good dialogue lines.

I hope you enjoy it.

Sheila

Sarah, I think you'd be talking about The Orange Tree in Richmond, which puts on some really interesting stuff.I'd have definitely gone to to a play about Gwen John. My son was always raving about productions when he lived over there and had a theatre-going girl-friend.

I think I'll go for The Revenger's Tragedy myself because it's one of my favourite Jacobean plays and I don't think I've ever seen a bad production.

I saw 'The Good Soul of Szechuan' last week at The Old Vic and although it lacks the lyricism of other Brecht plays it's an excellent example of an all-theatre production - important play with a thougth-provoking theme, great design, excellent ensemble acting and a thoroughly committed central performance. The weakness, I thought, was in the (translated) version they chose. The 'programme'is a Methuen paperback of the script.

In a way, it's why 'That Face' came as a bit of an anticlimax for me.

I think I've seen the horse puppets before, too, but in a play with David Bradbury at, I think, The Fairfield Halls in Croydon. It was that play about a disturbed boy who blinds horses. I'll need to look it up.

Sheila

Equus?

Have you seen - any of you - 'Brief Encounter'? One of the best things I've seen all year! it's still on and you can get a discount now, I believe.

Jem, no I haven't seen Brief Encounter, although I've seen the film with Celia Johnson lots of times.

I'm a bit financially challenged at present, so much of what I see is on a press ticket and I write a review('Good Soul of Szechuan' still to write) or I get in free because a friend gets complimentaries - hence the some-time back row seats.

On Tuesday, though, I'm going to Sadlers Wells to see The Peony Pavilion, a Chinese opera, because I got a promotional code when I went to hear a free talk about it at SOAS. It's £15 for a seat that would be £45 full price but it's an exception.

Sheila

Yes, I think it must have been Equus. Thanks. I'll look it up and see which year it was on. Maybe it was at the National Theatre. I know it had a big stage for all those horses to line up.

Sheila