2 SEPTEMBER 1955, Page 16

Theatre

THE faint grumbling in the background is pre- sumably intended to suggest the noise of waves breaking on shingle. It more closely resembles snoring, a response that the first act deserves. Every line is so painfully predictable that the audience is constantly tempted to prompt. The actionon the other hand, suffers from a sur- feit of misplaced ingenuity; and the twists of the plot finally strangle the play—though not before Anthony Snell has had time almost to restore good humour with an irrelevant but entertaining performance.