Seeing double: aqua vitae to whet the brain

Pub theatre programming, because it involves the regular turnaround of so many multiple personalities, can often be as disordered and unpredictable as a crack whore in a K-hole, with awe-inspiring theatrical experiences running back to back with calamitous comedowns of complete cack.

Sometimes this is because those who are responsible for it are so pissed they can barely shtring a shentence together, let alone be discerning about creative content; but it's also because these kinds of performance spaces foster emerging and developing work, which can simply be hit and miss.

But there is much to be said for the pub theatre and sometimes they succeed in standing head and shoulders above more established and mainstream theatrical venues in terms of the quality and originality of the work they accommodate.

The Old Red Lion in Islington is the prime example of a tavern that just seems to have talent on tap. Hard on the heels of sell-out show, FUCKED, which won a five star review in Time Out, comes An Alchemy of Flesh by Chicago-based writer, David Hauptschein, whose work is most commonly described as close to that of David Lynch - a tightly apt comparison.

A poetic exploration of identity generates the world of this singular play, where alter-egos apparently have real relationships with each other, and the play is especially enchanting because it brings its subject into focus obliquely, by smart and surprising artistic means. Rather than being a one-dimensional dramatised literal discussion, we are drawn into a textured, multi-dimensional kind of parallel universe. Actors Dagmar Doring and Jonathan Warde deliver incredibly developed, nuanced performances and bring to life a dynamite script that is full of depth, razor-sharp wit and killer lines.

If you dig the work of great minds as much as a decent head on a good pint of beer you'd do far worse than to hot-foot it down to the Old Red Lion before they call time on this gem.

An Alchemy of Flesh runs until 24th May (Tuesday to Saturday @ 7.30pm, Sundays @ 6.00pm)

Book here or call the Box Office on 020 7837 7816.