Boston Marriage, by David Mamet, is currently showing at the Burton Taylor theatre (running at approximately 90 minutes, without interval). For those of you not intimately familiar with turn of the century American slang, a "Boston Marriage" is a particular sort of sometimes-but-not-always sexual cohabitation between two women, which was presumably particularly common in and around Boston at the time in which the play is set.

Like many productions at the Burton Taylor, this play has a small cast, there are only three characters: Anna (Caroline Dyott, also producer) and Claire (Victoria Ross) make up the "marriage" of the title. The third character is their maid (Lily Sykes), who is credited simply as "Maid" (indeed, Anna's inability to remember the girl's actual name is something of a running joke throughout the play).

The two main characters are perhaps best described as sympathetically horrible. They both seem to be essentially selfish creatures, accustomed to comfort and casual cruelty. They develop as the play progresses, and while you can't shake the feeling that they are, on some level, not particularly nice people, they reveal so many faults and frailties that you have to want the best for them. The two actresses give fine, nuanced performances, and even make a reasonably good job of Boston accents. The role of the maid, although less complex, is none the less vital as a foil and contrast to the main characters, and Sykes manages to make an impression whilst still being suitably unassuming.

The play, in case I have not already mentioned, is a comedy. The dialogue (and most of the play is dialogue - the scene never moves outside of the one drawing room) is witty, and frequently barbed. The Director's introduction in the programme draws comparisons with Noel Coward, and I wouldn't say that they were out of place. If you're anything like me, you will almost certainly come away from the theatre with a couple of lines added to your "to use later" file.

The bottom line, as always is "should I spend my time and money on this play." Basically it's the best sort of Burton Taylor fare: it's a small budget student production of a good-but-slightly-obscure play with a talented cast and competent direction. So long as you aren't bringing very small children, and don't find homosexuality innately offensive, this is probably worth taking a look at.

Dan Hemmens 19/10/05