Neil and Alex have broken up, but Neil has talked his way back into the flat they once shared and is demanding his half of the property. Vicky turns up to help Alex - but the two sisters have 'issues' of their own (parents have split up; Vicky always flirts with Alex's boyfriends). Bullying Neil enlists the help of his mate Splodge (also with problems: wife has left him; CSA are on his case), and poor Splodge - who to complicate matters, fancies Alex a bit - doesn't know whose side he's on.

Richard Zajdlic was the head writer for series two of This Life, the iconic 90s BBC series charting the love affairs, careers and washing-up traumas of a group of hip, twenty-something professionals sharing a house in London. Dogs Barking is set squarely in the same world, as modern, young, urban people with modern, young, urban problems dramatise their lives and relationships with psycho-babble laden with expletives and the occasional dose of pathos.

Like This Life, it's all a bit glib and obvious, as self-consciously contemporary situations and problems drive a soap-opera plot. The depiction of a relationship's breakdown is well observed and at times touching, but for the most part only such shock-tactics as heavy swearing, full-frontal nudity and sexual violence (be warned) and the characters' greater level of articulacy distinguish it from an episode of Eastenders. But then, like This Life (and, for that matter, Eastenders) it's watchable enough: I was certainly not bored for the duration of a reasonably short and undeniably punchy play.

Despite these gripes (maybe I was just put in a grumpy mood by a mobile phone going off yet again - when will people learn?) there was a lot to admire in this performance, not least the acting. Jack Merriott and Charlie Covell put in very strong performances as the menacing, charismatic Neil and his ex-girlfriend Alex. Laura Power and Sheridan Edwards lent good support as Vicky and Splodge. The set, music and lighting were all very professional and captured the atmosphere perfectly. All in all, a slick and accomplished performance - let down only by a slightly pedestrian script.

George Tew, 17/02/04