Studio II: Public Property

Sam Peter Jackson's smart new three-hander has several twists, not all of them unexpected. Geoffrey Hammond is an in-the-closet gay man who reads the news and claims to be a national treasure. His vanity is hurt when reviews of his autobiography suggest that he comes a long way behind Victoria Beckham in the writing stakes. Hammond makes his first mistake when he fires his publicist, Larry, whose career is on the skids. His second is when he caught fumbling with a 16 year-old boy in his motor. How come the paparazzi knew where he was? Suddenly he needs his publicist again.

For most of the play, Hammond and the boy are holed up in Larry's flat. Nigel Harman's Larry cruelly revels in suggesting humiliating schemes ñ Celebrity Dental Practice anyone? ñ to win back the public's favour. Jackson's play is a lively, if somewhat glib, examination of how PRs manipulate the news behind the scenes, and of the perils of being famous. He is greatly helped by Robert Daws's remarkable performance as Hammond whose early conceit quickly evaporates as he proves to be a nice enough chap. He is almost as concerned about the boy (Steven Webb) as he is about himself and he reveals surprisingly strong feelings when he rings his boyfriend to apologise. Hanna Berrigan's production discovers hidden depths in Jackson's over manipulated plot.