Pressure Drop *** TNT

The temporary exhibition space has been cleared to make way for this promenade performance with music, commissioned as part of the Wellcome Trust’s Identity project.

Moving from living room, to pub, to chapel over the course of a day, this collaboration between playwright Mick Gordon and leftwing singer-songwriter Billy Bragg marks something of a departure for an institution famed for its scientific collection, exhibitions and talks.

With the General Election only days away, it’s surely no coincidence that the white working class family at the heart of this small scale exploration into who we are and what it means to be British bears the surname Clegg - though the party that Michael Gould’s out of work Jack is being encouraged to represent on the local council is the BNP.

It’s the day of his father Ron’s funeral and emotions run high as they await the return of Jack’s younger brother Jon, now a successful financial trader, who left for the States 15 years ago and hasn’t been back since. The genial, deceased Ron (a big fan of Toots and the Maytals’ Pressure Drop) keeps on popping back in soldier’s regalia, to talk to the family he left behind – wife Joan who’s showing increasing signs of forgetfulness, grandson George who’s heading for trouble under the influence of best mate Barney - before disappearing back into his coffin.

And at the other end of the scale, David Kennedy’s powerful, motor-mouthed Tony (Jack’s old school friend and strongest supporter as well as Barney’s dad) has no qualms about voicing his racist views or about passing his prejudices on to his thug-in-the-making son.

On a central platform, Bragg, accompanied by his band, punctuates the action with pleasingly relevant new songs and points the audience in the right direction as the location changes.

Strong performances flesh out Gordon’s script, but although it pinpoints important issues and hopes for a better future, it can’t really provide viable solutions with its tidy, optimistic conclusion.

Wellcome Collection Euston Road NW1 2BE Euston tube (0844 412 4318)

www.wellcomecollection.org/pressuredrop Until 12th May £20