Lone Star & PVT Wars - TNT

This double bill of James McLure's one act plays dates back to 1979 and the immediate post-Vietnam era, but almost 30 years later, it still provides an entertainingly comic evening whilst highlighting the effect the experience of war can have on those who went away to fight. In Lone Star, ex-EastEnder Shane Richie plays Roy, a loud-mouth Vietnam veteran who, now he's back home in small town Texas, can't face the reality of what his life has become. James Jagger (son of Mick) gives a creditable performance as his nerdy hate-object Cletis, but best of all is William Meredith's literal-minded Ray who repeatedly punctures older brother Roy's misplaced, beer-fuelled bravado.Set in a military hospital, PVT Wars is a loosely structured sequence of interludes in which Richie's compulsively flashing Silvio over-compensates for the fact that enemy shrapnel blew away his balls and addled his brain. Jagger Jr. reappears as a snooty NY mother's boy with a urine bag, who still can't quite comprehend why the army accepted him, and Meredith's uneducated Gately adds what seems to be the calm voice of reason as he tries, against the odds, to repair a broken radio and heal his own injuries. It's predominantly very funny but, underneath the humour, the damage done — both physically and psychologically — is only too apparent.
Kings Head Theatre, Upper St, N1 (020-7226 1916). Until September 23. Tues-Thurs £15, £12.50 concs; Fri-Sun £17.50, £15 concs