The Architect was written by David Greig in 1996 after he was captivated by the scale of ambition of a proposed development of inner city Glasgow in the sixties. A collaboration between the chief city architect and the communist housing convenor planned to demolish the inner city tenement blocks and replace them with 300 tower blocks set in a landscape of parks and motorways.

The plot centres around Leo, formerly a successful architect who had designed a prize winning set of tower blocks modelled on Stonehenge, and his failing family relationships. His son cruises public lavatories for gay sex, his daughter takes to nocturnal hitchhiking with lorry drivers, whilst his self-obsessed wife is neurotic about cleanliness. Leo is now reduced to designing car parks and is besieged by the residents association from his prize-winning tower blocks who are running a campaign for their demolition….

The play is dark and intense, and focuses on the gap between idealism and reality. But don't let this put you off, as there are many moments of beautifully delivered wry humour. The audience was very receptive, and many of them had already been engaging with the play's themes through a ticket price reduction of £1 for those who submitted photos of unusual Oxford buildings.

For me, the most memorable section of the play was a scene between Joe the lorry driver (Jack Clover) and Dorothy (Lily Erskine) in an all night café, in which Joe gives a very convincing description of “what men really want”, prompted by the vulnerable and tender-hearted Dorothy. The feelings were described by Joe in a slightly stilted, scarcely articulate style which was both endearing and credible.

The play is shocking and demanding, and Hypnotist Theatre Co. were courageous to deliver it in such style. A word of advice would be to make sure all the actors have their Weetabix before the next performance, as energy seemed to wane a little towards the finale.

Backstage, hats off to the sound effects guy (Harry Davidson) for wide ranging but nuanced and imaginative sounds that didn't intrude, but really added to the overall experience.

So, to all the young idealists out there, make a trip to the O’Reilly to catch this play before it's too late!