Winky

When balding no-hoper Neil attends a self-help course he realises there's only one thing holding him back from the life he's dreamed of, and that's living with his obsessively religious maniacal sister, Winky. Telling her to move out is the obvious solution. But is it the right one?

Adapted verbatim from a short story by celebrated American writer George Saunders, Winky asks how far personal fulfilment is a right – or to use the play's preferred metaphor, should you allow other people to defecate in your oatmeal?

Saunders' unerring ear for cliché in public and private discourse translates very effectively to the stage – especially when combined, as it is in this production, with an acutely observed lexicon of platitudinous gesture and expression. Edward Davis is especially good at this and his portrayal of the charismatic, self-righteous, self-help guru Tom Rodgers is terrifically accomplished. Amy Tobias is also strong as the intensely well-meaning, vulnerable Winky.

But the production does frequently lose pace, especially in the second half of the play. Perhaps there is an extent to which bleak monotony is part of the point - we really get a sense of how trapped Neil is in his one-note purgatory. But I wonder if the momentum could have been maintained better had there been a sharper adaption of the source.

Nevertheless, the play still succeeds in bringing home quite how often cowardice and kindness go hand in hand. And it is uncomfortably funny in its refusal to offer any satisfactory resolution.