Days Of Significance - TNT

Roy Williams' powerful 90-minute play bursts onto the stage with a vicious Friday night brawl and ends with a quiet, contemplative embrace several months later. In between, the lives of most of the young, working class protagonists have been drastically changed. Williams' street-sharp dialogue is as fast and dangerous as a snapping turtle as the loud-mouthed lads and the equally aggressive girls (led by Pippa Nixon's provocative Trish) face up for a night of sex, booze and projectile vomiting. Hannah and Dan are about to go off to uni, but for Ben and Jamie it's their last chance to get laid before heading off to Iraq where (according to Dan) they'll just be fast fodder for the Army. Following the boys to Basra (where the fighting — and its consequences — take on an altogether different dimension), Williams get to the heart of the fear behind the uninformed bravado of these bigoted lads, and, in the final scenes, traces the ambiguity of outgrown friendships. Written in response to the Bard's Much Ado About Nothing (and briefly premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford last year) this superbly acted production deserves a much longer London run. Catch it while you can.
Tricycle, Kilburn High Rd, NW6 (020-7328 1000) Until March 29. £18-£10