Scallies on the make

When trouble erupts before an England away game, H and Daz find themselves sharing a prison cell abroad. H (Jeff Hordley) is a criminal entrepreneur, fresh from a two-year jail sentence; Daz a former marine out for the craic.

When H confides in his cellmate that he's meeting an old associate with the intention of double-crossing him, Daz agrees to help in return for a forged passport.

With a plot built around a botched heist and, in H, a character familiar with political and cultural theory, Gregory Burke's new play reheats some ideas from his debut, Gagarin Way. Yet On Tour has none of that play's subversive humour or vision and Burke is not the first to milk comedy from scallies on the make.

Nor does the play have much to say. Thus, there is little leverage for exploring the characters or the regional differences that Burke establishes.

Paul Anderson is mesmerising as Daz - a nervous bundle of volatile muscle - while Matt Wilde's production will no doubt step up a gear as the run progresses. Yet Burke, a writer of immense flair, seems to have taken his foot off the accelerator. The result is something of a damp squib.

Until Oct 22, Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court, Sloane Square SW1, Mon to Sat 7.45pm, Sat mat 4pm, £15, £9 concs, £13 mats. Tel: 020 7565 5000. www.royalcourttheatre.com Tube: Sloane Square

On Tour