THE BRITTLE friendships between a group of young men are tested to breaking point in this engaging drama from new writer Ishy Din.


Four friends meet for drinks and a few frames of pool, as they do every year on the anniversary of their old pal T's death.

But tonight the laddish banter and drinking games fail to mask the cracks in their relationships and we gradually learn more about the circumstances behind T's demise.

Din observes the dynamics of pub-life impressively in this, his first full-length stage play.

Beneath the boasting, filthy language and teasing, among which there are some genuinely funny lines, lies an undercurrent of suspicion and the fear of being found out.

Shaf, Billy, Kamy and Jo have changed a lot since becoming friends as teenagers but in many ways they have not changed at all.

Family and business worries may have replaced getting laid and scoring booze as their major concerns, but reuniting with their old pals provides a chance to escape these grown-up pressures.

Afraid to confront their real fears, they seek solace in the superficial sheen of their juvenile joshing and it becomes clear how little they really know one another.

As the drinks flow and balls are potted, though, tensions rise to the surface and sparks begin to fly.

Unfortunately, as well observed as the dialogue is, the characters themselves are a bit cliched and there are too few surprises to maintain the tension.

However, there's plently to recommend in this very adult coming-of-age story, which is dripping with wit and tightly plotted.