Savage in Limbo

Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley's tricksy 1984 play is a sardonic exploration of a midlife crisis. In this mistimed revival, director Michael Pratt cannot conquer it. It's set in a despondent Bronx bar; this isn't a place where everyone knows your name. Into the malaise sweeps the eponymous Denise Savage, a 32-year-old stuck in a rut and desperate for a change. As the night unfolds, and amongst a chorus of fellow underachievers, she tries to make one. 'Savage in Limbo' is an existential tussle with the meaning of life. It's also very funny, or it would be if this cast spoke it with enough conviction. In the middle of it all Grace Kennedy as Savage puts in an electric, if nervy, performance, but she cannot save this patchy evening.