The Leisure Society review, Trafalgar 2

Sex is a bit of an obsession at Trafalgar 2 at the moment. So far so good. But this is sex combined with child abuse, a night of cuckolding and dialogue that is well spoken but vacuous: it's a bit like watching the hoorays from The Only Way Is Chelsea working on an Eastenders storyline scripted by Naomi Campbell.

Game for a barf

The script, however, is by French Canadian, Francois Archambault, who has the brass neck to assert that The Leisure Society is a comedy.  Quite what's funny about rich folk swapping stories of hitting and shaking each other's babies, is unclear. It's the sort of storyline for which Edward Bond's work got banned, but perhaps that's because it was believable. This is awful for awfulness sake.

That said, there's a  great cast headed by Ed Stoppard, John Schwabb and the captivating Melanie Grey, and introducing catwalk model Agyness Deyn who debuts looking and behaving strangely like the bad twin of... Agyness Deyn. It's a pointless 90 minutes and a waste of money at nearly £30 for a bit of bench.

In conclusion: If you're a fan of the actors, Trafalgar 2's intimate setting is an opportuntity to get up close and personal. If you're not, and want to see real comedy, nip across to St Martin's Lane to catch Zach Braff or the Hay Fever crew.

References
Ian Shuttleworth review in the FT