The day the bomb didn't go off

OneWorld UK

By Daniel Nelson

As well as the big set pieces in the West End the long-running musicals, or the umpteenth Macbeth - London offers a never-ending selection of original plays. Even the better ones usually end their run before word gets out that they might be worth a look.

And even the better ones are hard to recommend to a friend. These modest productions rarely have the visual impact of film, and a lack of resources often gives them a frayed at the edges feel. Do people really want to go out on a chilly winter evening to share an unprepossessing venue with a sparse, slightly self-conscious audience in order to watch a performance that would benefit from weeks more rehearsal?

And yet there are pleasures to be had. Five Tanks at the Hackney Empire wont make you cry with laughter or rock you in your seat, its not a trailblazer or a groundbreaker; the staging is poor and needs tightening, the acting needs more edge. But the basic concept the reactions and interactions of staff in a call centre on the day a bomb fails to explode on a 26 bus is interesting and writer Lab Ky Mo has talent.

Gradually you find out why the cold callers a bankrupt stockbroker, a former soldier (or is he?), an actress waiting for a part, a lost soul without friends or family are working in a boring job for little pay. Their boss, Nick, doesnt want to be there either, but his attempts to cajole them into filling their call quotas, and thus earn him a bonus with which he can escape, are stymied by the effects of the bomb scare.

The failed attack allows Mo to add another dimension, the Muslim faith of two of the characters, the stockbroker and the office enforcer, Rehana.

Mos crisp, amusing dialogue sets a good pace hes especially good on London office banter, with its dangerously shifting mix of banality, sexism and racism, humour, abuse, concern, self-protection, self-promotion and revelation. Despite the static nature of call centre work he also succeeds in keeping his characters on the move. His light touch fails only at the end when he resorts to the clunking and unconvincing theatrical device of playing back a recorded telephone conversation that of course contains a dramatic twist.

But all this is beside the point, which is: would I recommend it to a friend on a winter night? Yes its fun, its lively, it touches on interesting issues without pushing them in your face, its live. Its only 90 minutes, for heavens sake: you can see a play, have a meal and a drink, get a good nights sleep - and be fresh for another day at work tomorrow.

* Five Tanks plays at the Hackney Empire, 291 Mare St, E8 1EJ (020 85104500) until 10 November. Tickets £12/£9