The telling of bad news is given complete amplification in Howard Barker’s 70-minute piece. Thucydides is the inspiration: his account of how a wartime disaster was first announced, nearly 2,500 years ago, is the foundation for something that looks to our dependence on news — especially the grim stuff — today. In the original, a survivor told the story it while being shaved; in this case, we’re still at the barber's, but “the visitor” (Duncan Bell) is more than a survivor. He exists only for the telling of his tale; he has no name, and neither does his barber (George Irving), the unfortunate recipient. Swiftly we get the build-up and the fall-out. One feels more successful than the other: when the telling of the news eventually leads to a meditation on war, suffering and freedom, the drama becomes less urgent, and ideas take precedence over emotions. But Irving does make the barber human, while Bell must be entertaining, and cold, throughout. A slight sense of archness is also introduced by the loud, deliberate sound effects — each glass of water poured is, for instance, a splash booming from the speakers, which probably amounts to nice theatrical theory, but is largely vacant in practice. However, there’s an engagement with language here, and an ambition, which can’t be faulted.

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