Free Time Radical

In Free Time Radical, Fringe First and Total Theatre award-winners Frequency D'Ici offer a thoughtful play that never quite recovers from a shaky start. The premise is an interesting one – two men in their early 30s are holed up in a grubby living room as the world around them is submerged in a watery apocalypse. But it's not introduced clearly enough at the beginning and the audience is left wondering why these two unlikely companions—dishevelled Ali and suit-wearing Jensen—wound up together in the first place.

After some initial bemusement, everything becomes clear when a key element of the plot is revealed around two-thirds into the play. From then, Free Time Radical gathers pace and ends strongly, Sebastien Lawson and Tom Frankland proving that they are impressive, dextrous performers when they make Ali and Jensen's relationship suddenly very sweet and believable. There are some well-observed jokes too and the idea that Friends will still be playing on British TV when the end of the world comes provokes much laughter.

But the play's main strength is in its representation of a drifting generation of 30-somethings, whose boundless world of choices has left them inert and unable to face major responsibilities as they get older. The production could benefit from shaving 10 minutes off its running time and the all-important reveal could be made earlier, but ultimately Free Time Radical exposes itself to be a considered and thoughtful work with much to say about how we can better live our lives.