This topical comedy about a group of eclectic office workers in a city law firm has the glossy sheen of a well-polished farce, along with stellar performances from a talented and versatile cast who expertly morph between multiple roles.
Writer Sarah Henley’s play (her first) has clearly been inspired by the recognisable characters she met working in corporate environments - go-getter lawyers, workshy secretaries, evil bosses and annoying co-workers. While stereotypes certainly aren’t absent from the piece, both writer and actors work to inject them with individualism and charm, leading to some great moments of original humour and physicality - something especially impressive for anyone who feels that Ricky Gervais’ The Office had pretty much exhausted the subject matter.
As a piece of theatre, the play suffers from the lack of a thematic punch. The characters don’t seem particularly preoccupied with escaping office life - as the title suggests - which in a way is refreshing, but also leaves an unfilled hole for a stronger overriding perspective.
Henley expertly juggles multiple characters and story strands, but faces difficulties when trying to sustain what is essentially the structure of a television sitcom for this length of time. However, this is an enjoyable play by a clearly talented new writer who demonstrates poise and comic timing not often seen in such an early piece of work.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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