Only six actors - yet the play has 30 scenes and 35 character parts. In a nutshell it's about the growing pains of a sad little boy from the moment of birth to the threshold of manhood. A pathetic youngster lost in a confusing world.

The passage of time was suggested by slides denoting world events during his painful passage through boyhood in the 1940s.

The set was cleverly done with four large cubes revolving to reveal painted indoor/outdoor scenes. At the start I particularly liked the way the six actors introduced themselves to the audience explaining that they were each to take on several roles.

These even included a talking parrot - a nice comical touch. If there was a flaw it was that the early promise tended to lose momentum and although the lighting and choice of music was superb - and the slide projection faultless - the regular breaks between the scenes slowed things down.

I longed for a faster pace to drive the action forward more urgently.

There were some brilliant character studies.

Tory Sunners as a repressed spinster was especially good at inventing comical touches.

In the demanding role of the young boy - from bare-legged toddler to troubled teenager - Matthew Lambert was superb.

By any yardstick, the production scored highly.

Its faults, if any, lay in the fundamental flaw of the play itself which was over-long and repetitious.

Harlequin Players: Second From Last In The Sack Race