Visiting Mr Green - TNT

Jeff Baron's first play has been seen all over the world – from Mexico to Serbia and from Japan to South Africa - since it first surfaced in Massachusetts in 1996. It's not a great piece of work – and the basic scenario is familiar - but this sympathetic two-hander will touch a nerve with anyone who has ever had to deal with a cantankerous elderly relative who desperately needs help but refuses to accept it.
Octogenarian Warren Mitchell (who previously played the part in Australia) reprises the role of 86 year old Mr Green, a Jewish New Yorker who (since the recent death of his beloved wife of almost six decades) has ignored the post and barely bothered to eat. So when smart young corporate executive Ross arrives in his apartment (bearing soup and ready to tidy up) he's none too welcoming - especially when he realises that Ross is only there because he's been sentenced to 6 months' community service for almost running him over. Predictably, over the weeks, chinks appear in the crotchety widower's armour, skeletons are prised out of cupboards and closet doors are opened to reveal areas of both similarity and seemingly irreconcilable difference.
Gideon Turner charms as the reluctantly solitary Ross (who has fallen out with his own family because of his sexual orientation) and Mitchell (doddery on his pins but with perfect timing and nuanced delivery) embodies all the frailties and belligerent resilience of old age in a gentle but sentimental production.
Trafalgar Studios, Whitehall, SW1. 0870-060 6632. Until May 10. Tickets £42.50 - £20