Doing it my way

A middle-aged brother and sister, stuck in their decaying house in Streatham, spend their days wallowing in their life-long Frank Sinatra obsession until a mysterious stranger turns up, waving a copy of the I-Ching, and threatens to end their cosy existence. Such is the not-terribly-original premise of Bernard Kops's Playing Sinatra.

The first half works as a look at the claustrophobic world of someone caring for a mentally ill relative, thanks to Jennie Stoller's performance as Sandra. David McAlister, known to the hung-over masses as Dennis Richardson from Hollyoaks, brings a decent level of menace to the volatile Norman, until dodgy sound effects of dogs barking and children singing are used to illustrate his mental distress, the melodrama is over-cranked, and it turns into Tales Of The Unexpected.

Kops chooses to put character secondary to unbelievable plot and so, despite decent performances from the three actors, with Miles Richardson (pictured with David McAlister) proving a suitably slimy suitor, this 'Sinatra' is a mere 'chairman of the bored'.

Playing Sinatra