White Boy & 20 Cigarettes - TNT

The National Youth Theatre has been going strong for over 50 years, giving aspiring actors and backstage technicians the chance to work with established practitioners and show off their talents all over the UK. You may not spot a future Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig or Orlando Bloom (all NYT alumni) but the well-drilled and impressive cast of "White Boy" captures both the energy and confusion of late adolescence. In just over an hour, playwright Tanika Gupta addresses some of the problems which confront today's young people in a multicultural society, specifically concentrating on the tensions which explode around the school gates where troublemakers collide with pupils and disputes can escalate into fatal violence. The concept behind "20 Cigarettes" is appealing. Middle-aged Oscar who' trying to quit relives the most significant smokes of his life under the (unfortunately rather annoying) supervision of a psychotherapist who has her own issues to contend with. There's the occasional funny moment but, disappointingly, writer Marcy Kahan not only gives the biggest part to a mature actor (Simon Dutton originally joined the NYT in 1974!) but also fails to make much of the changing attitudes to smoking over the years or the events themselves. The cast performs with enthusiasm, but it's hard to care whether Oscar gives up or not.
Soho Theatre, Dean Street, W1 (0870-429 6883). Until September 1