It is pretty much your worst nightmare: your boss arrives a day early for a dinner party catching you totally unaware. An important dinner party, too - one carefully planned to save a flagging career and get a thesis published, thus resulting in a promotion.

Such is the situation facing Henri (a flailing astrophysicist portrayed excellently by David Haig, from 'Art', TV's 'The Thin Blue Line' and also 'Four Weddings and a Funeral') and his wife Sonia (Belinda Lang, '2.4 Children'), who are trying to settle their precocious son down to bed when they are interrupted by Boss Hubert (David Yelland, 'Dalziel and Pascoe'), and his wife Ines (Serena Evans, 'Thin Blue Line'). Tonight, however, there is nothing at all to eat in the house - apart from some Cheesy Wotsits.

It is on this premise that the play from Yasmina Reza (of the successful 'Art' fame) brings us both hilarity and tragedy. A classic social nightmare brought to life not once but three times, with the slightest alteration bringing a change of emphasis and a different variation in tone. During each variation different character traits are revealed, with the slight changes in action leading to varying extremes of consequence. The first scene is by far the funniest, with the supposed decorum of the whole situation getting completely out of hand, ending up in constant insult and much hilarity. The next two scenes provide interesting variations, gradually becoming more subdued in tone, but remaining just as excellently funny.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Reza's stimulating and fresh "Art" and missing the original Life x 3 run in the West End, I was glad to see it come to Oxford. The play was highly entertaining and enjoyable; not an all-out comedy in the traditional farcical sense, but certainly in a much more light-hearted and wittier
way than Art ever was, keeping well within Reza's deep interest of exploring the depths of social dynamics.

The verbal sparring and comic timing from both couples was top notch, with the entire cast giving first-rate performances. David Haig is perfect as the sometimes simpering Henri and Belinda Lang excels as his acerbic wife. David Yelland gets Henri's lecherous and manipulative boss just right, while Serena Evans runs the gamut of emotions as his much put-upon wife.

Lasting exactly one and half-hours (no interval), Life x 3 is great fun and thoroughly enjoyable - not to be missed.

Alistair Power, 30.08.2002