Wallace Shawn's new play is an odd beast. It's (rather long) set up is a reunion of those involved in a play 10 years earlier at their old haunt The Talk House, for an evening reminiscing and to enjoy host Nellie's (Anna Calder-Marshall) snacks. The Talk House has seen better days but as the former colleagues gather it quickly becomes obvious that the world has perhaps seen better days too.

The world of writer Richard (Josh Hamilton) and the others is one that is familiar and not, as if it is running in parallel, has jumped a track.

spoilers Wallace Shawn's character Dick is a washed up actor who has never replicated his early success and is living temporarily at The Talk House while he recovers from a beating. His friends carried out the violent attack for his own good because he was about to step over the line "you know". It's a warning, a reminder to be nice.

But that isn't the worst of it. There is a Government policy, that no one is supposed to talk about but everyone does, of killing anyone perceived to be a threat. You can get a job choosing targets which meet the criteria like getting a job working in a shop. You can also get a job as one of the assassins, a menial job for those who need the money. There are lots of different ways people can be murdered, not all of them swift, and of course there is discrimination on the method of murder depending on the status and popularity of the person targeted.