Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England • 52

-ar- 52 WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 1998 Reviews EVENING STANDARD New man quite rise to the occasion shoot Lucy blurts after Barry has made yet another hurried deposit in personal sperm bank penis is still imperial" shouts Matt revealingly when told the size of pride and joy in alarming centimetres wit and his intelligent use of complex scientific material are not the problem The play is poorly structured with some scenes clunkingly rigged so that an argument or an insemination can be staged or that someone can dress up in a rat costume Barry is a gross caricature Matt's student lover Zoe (Sarah Tansey) is a cipher and it takes Lucy ages to ask Matt the question been Sperm Wars Orange Tree Richmond NICK CURTIS attempts to impregnate her with sperm donated by the dull actuary Barry (Stuart Fox) but nearing the end of her tether At the heart of the story lies the question of whether humans are driven by the animal impulse to procreate or able to exercise free will however emotionally Although a lot of the science comes to us only part-masticated by Lewis it is intriguing stuff with copious scope for jokes Biology lesson: Amanda Royle as Lucy and Jeremy Crutchley as Matt LOVE to say that newcomer David seriocomic discourse on biology psychology and sperm is a seminal drama but it Instead an engaging deeply flawed first full-length work from a tyro writer in which every cocksure moment of cleverness is balanced by an example of premature clumsiness Given a poor production on the fringe it might be dismissed out of hand Treated with respect by director Sam Walters and a cast of experienced actors it suggests that Lewis is definitely a writer worth watching Sperm Wars focuses on a marriage that is coming apart Matt (Jeremy Crutchley) is a biology lecturer who finds his theories on male sexual supremacy fail to translate into real life Although attractive enough to pull a young student an affair revealed when she faxes him a photocopy of her genitals his sperm count is too low to produce a child His wife Lucy (Amanda Royle) puts up with his tantrums his theories and his writing but by the end you can see why he tried This is the work of a promising intelligent but unskilled writer who may yet come up with the goods 9 In rep until 1 7 October Box office: 01819403633 on our minds from the start: are you such an Crutchley gives an impressive portrayal of pricked pent-up manhood and Royle is convincingly distraught and distracted Sam Walters tries and fails to paper over the cracks in Silky smooth to stiffened frenzy at the flick of a twitch The Place Theatre WC1 ANNE SACKS wispy bleached blonde hair and street clothes searches for the Hero in Myself an ironic play on her bleak conclusion that the spirit is killed off in urban Tokyo Beguiling silky ripples send tremors from the shoulders glossy hair obscuring her face Round she goes echoing American minimalist Laura whirling Dervish dances But as she reels and spins her torso unwinding we glimpse her tortured expression The Franz Liszt piece for piano brings a breath of Europe and she acquires the air of a tormented courtesan Mesmeric Tonight only Festival continues to 3 October Box office: 01 71 3870031 to the fingertips Smooth moves twist into a frenzy of stiffened muscles twitches and jerks that calm only when she emerges catatonic from her fiiries She is ready now to be the cog in the wheel The silky moves start up again The body is there but the mind has gone Beautifully realised and performed Lo Man Fei from Taiwan makes a flying start twirling round long skirt flying torso folded THE fourth annual festival of dance provided sometimes unexpectedly some of the most refreshing of dance-watching experiences Chief programmer Pit Fong Loh the choreographer and formidable director of Bi Ma Dance Company shows a shrewd eye for quality and a sharp sense of what makes a diverting evening Two solos top the bilL The Japanese dancer Aki Nagatani in COMEDT0171 369 1731cc0171 3444444 THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND kyTim Steward BLACK COMEDY by Peter Shaffer Aa nutate mate Slim Mat-Sat 731am Mats Wed A Sat 399 41 but nan til aril in perm iijr LAST I WEEKS ENOS 31 OCT ENDS SATURDAY QUEENS THEATRE CRITERION 369 17373444444 HILARIOUS 3rd GREAT TEAR! 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