Total Eclipse - TNT

The volatile relationship between 19th century French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine comes under scrutiny in this 1968 play by Christopher Hampton, written when he was a student. From their first meeting (when the older, married Verlaine becomes infatuated with the teenage "enfant terrible") to their final confrontation and beyond, it paints a louche picture of poverty and absinthe-fuelled violence as they travel from one country to another. The performances are uneven — Daniel Evans successfully communicates Verlaine's uncontrolled rages and final decay but Jamie Doyle's cocky Rimbaud lacks the necessary glint of danger. Ultimately, it's difficult to have sympathy with either character — one going out of his way to court controversy, the other abandoning his battered wife and son —and Paul Miller's traverse staging lacks the intensity needed to bring their passions into compelling dramatic focus.

Menier Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark St, SE1, 020-7907 7060, Until May 27. £22.50

Louise Kingsley