Kurt and Sid ** TNT

Friday 18 September 2009 17:49 GMT

Sid Vicious rises from his early grave to confront Kurt Cobain in Roy Smiles’ turgid two-hander. For a play which opens with the end of a shotgun wedged in the Nirvana front man’s mouth, you’d be entitled to expect something with more dramatic impetus than this production delivers.

Instead,despite hard work from Danny Dyer’s sneering Sid (who does a laudable job ofdelivering too many forced jokes which, not surprisingly, have little impacton the suicidal Kurt) what we get is a half biographical, half-heartedly analytical exposition of their shared and disparate grievances with the media, other people and life in general. With the addition of an appropriate soundtrack, it might pass muster on the radio, but it’s far too flimsy for West End material.

Unwashed, depressed and addicted to heroin, Shaun Evans’ monotone Kurt is holed up in a Seattle attic littered with dismembered dolls and fag ends. Just as he’s about to pull the trigger, Sid make his decidedly solid entrance (is he a ghostly reincarnation, a surprisingly articulate Sex Pistol’s impersonator, or a figment of fan Kurt’s troubled imagination?) to try and dissuade him from committing a final act of despair. Cue an excuse to divulge some Sid history (to prove his identity), some Kurt pet peeves (to justify his intended action) and a brief, weakly realised Peter Pan-style excursion looking down at the earth below.

Sadly, Smiles doesn’t go much further, and his imaginary meeting between these two icons from the eras of punk rock and grunge never convinces that bringing them back from the dead was worth the effort.

Trafalgar Studios (2), Whitehall, SW1A 2DY TUBE: Charing Cross tube (0870 060 6632; ambassadortickets.com/trafalgarstudios) Until Oct 3. £29.50