THE LAST ENEMY
Drill Hall Arts Centre, London WC1
Opened 3 October, 1991

It's a strange criticism, but the directness of Carl Miller's dialogue is sometimes monotonous. Grammatical directness, that is – few subordinate clauses, no lengthy periods; he writes as people talk. He applies the same sensibility to his dramatic writing with invigorating frankness: breaking taboos of wording and notion casually but insistently, to considered effect rather than for shock value. Its tale of a group of teenagers in 1977 and the enormous journeys they've made and continue making in 1991 is given a straightforward, unadorned treatment by David Benedict and his cast – listing toward portentousness in a series of 90-second meditations on mortality, but mostly adhering to the view that "Life's too short for metaphors." Eroticism is neither underplayed nor placed on a soapbox. It's a production which manages to take its subject matter – issues, yes, but primarily people – both seriously and joyously.

Written for City Limits magazine.

Copyright © Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.

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