Edward Wise gave an impressive portrayal of old age and illness which could have been tedious to watch but wasn't. It was in his voice, his stance, his delivery, and much more subtle than the bad old days of talc in the hair. Adelie Chevee was wickedly rude and her accent was compelling. Emma Eastwood-Paticchio was impressively steely and manipulative. The quartet was completed by Niall Docherty as an academic doctor, interested only in getting his hands on some research notes. I found him a little weak but perhaps that was only because he was nicer than the other characters.

My problems with the play were twofold: the characters didn't seem to develop, which could explain why they seemed unsympathetic. This was partly because the timeline seemed to jump around, and partly because there wasn't a strong plot to shove the play forwards. Secondly it's a general rule, especially in the confines of the BT, that the greater the number of props the more the actors are distracted from their basic task of conveying character. Here they were drowning in a sea of papers (which were obviously not what they purported to be).